Loreto (Larry) Ferri

Survived by his loving wife Elaine Ferri (nee Torkoff) for almost 48 wonderful years. Beloved father to Sabrina Ferri, Nina Ferri Morra and Giovanni Ferri and father-in-law to Nick Morra and Erin McMullen-Ferri. Cherished grandfather to Antonio Webb, Luca Morra, Mateo Morra and Everly Ferri. Dearly loved by his siblings, Mary Silvestri, Domenica Sisti, Giuseppe (Joe) Ferri, Mario Ferri, Daniela Ferri and his brother in laws Tony Silvestri, Peter Sisti and Mario D’Antonio.

Even on the toughest days, Larry would find a way to brighten the room up. He always knew how to make someone laugh. He was loved by so many and will be dearly missed.

He was born on June 18, 1950 in Pescosolido, Italy to Giovanni and Colomba Ferri. Larry loved to play golf and watch hockey. When he wasn’t building kitchens, he was cooking in them. He was a self-made chef and found sheer joy in preparing meals. He often showed his love for people through the food he cooked.

Visitation will take place at Andrews Community Funeral Centre, 8190 Dixie Rd, Brampton, Ontario on Sunday, January 14, 2024 from 4pm-8pm. A Funeral Mass will take place on Monday, January 15, 2024 at 11am at St. Marguerite d'Youville Catholic Church, 2490 Sandalwood Pkwy E, Brampton, ON Entombment at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, Woodbridge, Ontario.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either the Bethell Hospice in Inglewood or Meals on Wheels in Caledon in his honor.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.andrewscommunityfuneralcentre.com for the Ferri family.

Eulogy

Dear Dad, MrMcGoo, coocishvon, pappasmurf

Writing a eulogy for you is the last thing I ever wanted to do, but writing it is easy, as you were one of most incredible humans with so many accomplishments. As I stand here today, it is evident just how loved you are

Your life started in Italy with your late mom Colomba and late father Giovanni and your two sisters Mary and Domenica, that you love and cherished beyond words. Times in Italy were not easy. Food was scare but there was never shortage of love.

You migrated to Canada when you were 14 and you welcome 3 additional siblings, Joe, Mario, and Daniella who you loved just as much. You had a hard time adjusting here in Canada and often wished you could go back to Italy, but that all change when you met mom.

At the young age of 24 you met your soul mate, the love of your life. While your ego at the time may not have allowed you to show it, mom was your everything. At the age of 25 you got married and the next chapter of your life started. You welcomed your first child to this world - Your daughter Sabrina. You were a doting father so proud of your beautiful girl. Her curly hair that reminded you so much of Shirley Temple. She was perfect. A few years later you welcomed me in to this world. From the minute I could, I clung onto you for protection from everyone and anyone. See, I was a shy baby, you couldn't even stare at me without me crying and my safe spot, my protector was always my dad. A few years later you welcome your final child, your son Giovanni. Your life was complete. You now had a son who would carry your legacy on and he was and will forever be your baby boy.

My dad came from nothing but built an incredible empire for himself. With a work ethic that can’t be explained and a passion and talent for wood working he created his Kitchen Cabinet Business that many of you in this room know as L.Ferri Kitchens.

He worked so hard day and night to provide for his family and he gave us all such a privileged life. While building kitchens was his profession, cooking in kitchens was where most of his joy came from. Religiously, every Sunday you would find my dad at the grocery store in the morning to gather the food that he would need to prepare in the kitchen all afternoon. Every Sunday was family dinner and you could be sure it was going to be delicious. With everything cooked from scratch and cooked with love you would never go home hungry. One of the ways my dad showed how much he loved you was through cooking. Anyone who knew my dad has a story or favourite dish that my dad made.

Over the years so many incredible memories and moments were built that will forever be cherished but 3 years ago our worlds started to come crashing down on us. Your COPD was now starting to amplify and slowly your quality of life began to change. At first is was sutle changes but things progressed rather quickly. Your entire family did everything we could to slow it down. Every hospital visit became a mini vacation for you and I. I appreciated the time we got together. It was our special time to bond and connect and catch up. Because of how often you were in the hospital I would normally come and work in your room and you always welcomed it. You would be so inqusitived with my career and often ask me follow up questions after a conference call that you just listened in on. You knew you likely wouldn't understand the answer but you still asked. I know you appreciated our mini vacations as much as I did.

You cheated death several times and fought hard for all of us. In your final months as I knew I would have to one day prepare to write this eulogy I got to ask you things that you would want me to include in here. We talked a lot about it as you were never good with words and so as we spoke I always noted them down word for word, so I could be sure to stand here today to share your final thoughts with everyone. So here goes:

Sabrina - she is my first born daughter. I will always have a special love for her. I am proud of her. She is stubborn but she is strong. I love her very much

Johnny - I am so proud of the man he has become. He is a good dad. He cares so much about his daughter. He does so good with his garden but he needs to give more space for the zucchini plants

Mom - I love her dearly. I always love her. I may not have been good at telling her but she is the love of my life and I am so grateful for her taking good care of me

Nick - he is my son too. Make sure he knows how much I love him. He is a good husband and you will be fine Nina when I die because Nick will help you. He is a great dad and I am glad he finally learnt how to use tools to fix things around the house.

Mateo / Luca /Antonio - don't smoke, stay out of trouble. Keep up with hockey and don't let girls distract you. I love them all so much. They are very good kids

I end with this note to my dad:

Dear Dad,

If I were to look up the definition of warrior I would see your name in bold print. You are my hero. While Heaven and Earth are far apart just know our love can never be separated. I will forever be your baby girl and you will forever be my dad. Until our paths cross again, my angel you will be.

It's only fitting I say goodbye the way we normally do (do our handshake