Giovanni Giacomo Boschetti

Giovanni Giacomo Boschetti was born on October 11, 1929 in Magnano in Riviera, Udine, Italy and passed away on December 18, 2024 surrounded by his loving family in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the age of 95 years.

He has been reunited in Heaven with his beloved wife Giuseppina, his brother Giuseppe and his parents Angelo and Lucia.

He was a devoted and loving father of Angelo and Luciana, father-in-law to Denise and cherished Nonno of Matthew and Caroline. He will be missed by his sisters-in-law Pasqualina, Antonietta and Mary (late Umberto) and brothers-in-law Antonio and Peppino as well as all his nieces and nephews in Canada and Italy.

He will be missed by his cousins, Carlo, Gianna, late Pierino, late Wanda, Renzo, Bianca, Bruna, Giorgio, Franco and Etsu (late Gilbert) and their families in Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland and Japan.

Giovanni immigrated to Canada in 1953 arriving at Pier 21 in Halifax after completing his military service in Italy. From Halifax he travelled directly to Manitoba to work with a crew of young Friulan immigrant navies building the railroad in Churchill. Once he saved enough money working on the railroad, he bought his train ticket to Toronto and here he worked as a carpenter building homes with his zio Giovanin. Pay was not good and work not abundant then and as soon as he could he joined Local 27 Carpenters union. He worked as a “finish” carpenter in commercial construction projects, building hospitals, commercial office towers and more notably the Rogers Centre (SkyDome), where his signature is etched in glass in the stadium.

He was honest and worked very hard to provide well for his family. At aged 57 and still working full time with the union, Giovanni built his dream home on Wallasey Ave. He loved his house and the comfort his house provided. He furnished his home with custom built furniture pieces that he hand-made in his garage. He maintained impeccable landscaping and cared for everything with pride.

Giovanni was most happy sitting around his dining table and enjoying a meal with his family. Much of the food he enjoyed was grown in his vegetable garden or picked off his fruit trees. He cured prosciuttos and made delicious sausages. He loved to eat and never wasted any food as he remembered what it was like when food was scarce.

He was a very independent and strong-willed man. He loved to drive his car and continued to drive to Mass, do shopping, pick up medications from the pharmacy and visit the cemetery on his own. He drove monthly to meet his Club 88 retiree friends for lunch. Only recently did he agree to have some personal support assistance. He was so pleased with that decision and he welcomed their kind visits where he would share his life experiences with precise accuracy.

Giovanni was friendly to everyone, “Salutava tutti”. He was loved by his neighbours. They looked out for him and he appreciated that very much. He had a comfortable daily routine of preparing his coffee and breakfast, reading the Corriere Canadese newspaper and when that was done he would sit and rest in the family room watching CP24 News or sit in the living room looking out the bay window onto the street.

He was very proud of his children and especially his beloved grandchildren. He would speak of Matthew and Caroline to his friends, with such joy. His grandchildren meant the world to him and he savored the time he got to spend with them.

He will be forever remembered, loved and missed by all of his family and friends.

If desired, donations in Memory of Giovanni Giacomo Boschetti may be made to the Humber River Hospital Foundation, West Park Healthcare Centre Foundation and Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation, or to the charity of your choice.