John Oliver Giardino

JOHN GIARDINO
Eulogy

John was born on the beautiful farm in Grimaldi, Italy. He had 5 sister and 1 brother. As a young boy he roamed the fields of the farm and he had many stories that he would tell his children. His father bought him a horse (Nino) when he was a young boy, which made him like the King of the town.

John served in the Military when he was of age where he learned many skills of trade.

John came over from Italy as a young adult. He learned English and to read and write on his own. John was born on December 5, 1928. He would have been 88 years old this December.

John met Linda at a family gathering. They were married when he was 27 and she was 17. Their first home was on Home Street, where they had two children Tony and Anna Marie.

Many good memories were shared with family and friends at get-togethers throughout the years. At these family gatherings, John would do many impersonations of characters, which would make all the nieces and nephews laugh.

John was always a stylish man, he dressed well. He still visited the local Barber' on Pembina Highway.
He took a lot of pride in his home and yard and wanted things to look perfect. Nothing was ever out of place. The snow was cleared as the flakes fell and so too were the leaves.
John enjoyed a long retirement and he would spend hours outside in the yard, garden and garage. He liked to shine his Buick. He could often be seen in his yard wearing his Tommy Hilfiger flip flops, denim cut-offs and he always had a great tan. There was no stop button for John and even Linda worried about him sometimes. He would work outside for 8 hours. He would shovel his enormous driveway all at once, plant the whole garden in one day. We would often find him on his roof as you pulled up the driveway. He loved the Christmas Season and loved to decorate.

He loved to visit his mother in Italy along with his sisters and family. He and Linda would take the Via Train to Vancouver to visit his other sister Alba and family quite often.
When Linda, his wife took ill, John demonstrated round the clock care-giving beyond belief. When she was hospitalized and advised not to return home, he fought for her to be at home because he knew this is where she wanted to be, and this is where he wanted her to be. It was exhausting and hard, but love and the remaining time with her, prevailed all.

At first John was not particularly fond of Chunk, the 110 pound Mastiffe dog of Tony and Karen's. The dog did not come into the house nor did John really care to touch him. It is funny how after certain events, that Chunk became John's very good friend, offering him comfort. Chunk used to visit Linda, lie down by John's feet and when Linda was gone, Chunk would inspect the whole house to ensure John was secure. Chunk always resisted leaving John's house. A true bond had formed.

John had excellent health his entire life and was very fit for his age.
If you go to the house, you will see amazing Cedar trees that he planted himself that have now grown to amazing heights. These cedars are home to a colony of grackles that John had a love-hate relationship with, because of the unsightly business they left on his Buick.

The kids often brought him meals such as Swiss Chalet, Tony Roma ribs, Chinese food but his all-time favorite was Pasta and Beans. He even made his own pasta sauce.

John always patted you warmly on the shoulder or back and genuinely wanted to know how you were.

He was always helping his kids around their homes when needed.

John will be dearly missed by many, for years to come.

Tony & family - I am so sorry for your loss. I remember as a kid walking past your house everyday to go to school, your dad kept the yard spotless, and those tall cedars along the driveway were awesome. My thoughts and prayers got out to you and your family during this difficult time.