Lydia Giles

Giles, Lydia
Jul. 1, 1910 - Jan. 4, 2016
Lydia Giles passed away peacefully at her home in Venice, Florida on January 4, 2016 at the age of 105. She was born in Laurium, Michigan on July 1, 1910. Lydia is preceded in death by her two brothers, Virgil and Dr. Gordon Castigliano, MD. She is survived by her son Professor Marc Bertonasco, PhD, her daughter Sandra Evans, her granddaughter Anna Roppolo, her two great grandchildren Lauren and Christopher Roppolo and her sister in law Betty Castigliano Scott.
Lydia lived a colorful and very interesting life as a mother, world traveler, musician and artist. She attended grade school and high school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lydia was accepted and graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Institute of Music in Turin, Italy where she met and married her first husband, Dr. Thomas Eraldo Bertonasco, PhD. Lydia and Tommy moved to Cumberland, Wisconsin in 1938, where Tommy, as chief chemist, joined the Stella Cheese Company owned by Lydia's father, Attilio Castigliano. Dr. Bertonasco passed away prematurely at age 39 during the year of 1947. In 1962, Lydia married her second husband, James Giles. Jim was a real estate developer, general contractor and cattle rancher. They lived alternately between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Mentor, Minnesota. In 1975, they both moved permanently to Venice, Florida. Jim passed away in Venice in 1993. Lydia was a remarkable, talented and generous person who will be deeply missed by her many friends and relatives. A private family service and memorial will be held in Venice at a later date. Lydia will be interred in the family burial plot located in Cumberland, Wisconsin.