Mario Astorino

It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing of Mario Astorino, husband, father, Nonno, son, brother and friend. Mario passed away suddenly and peacefully on December 18 at the age of 94 while in hospital. He is predeceased by his wife of 65 years, his parents, brother, sisters, best friends and many others that were waiting to welcome him to his forever home. He is survived by his daughters, son-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will miss him very much. He also leaves behind many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Mario was born in Scigliano Lupia, Calabria, on May 1, 1929 and lived there until he emigrated to Canada to work on the railroad in order to provide a better future for his family. His career spanning over 30 years with the Canadian National Railway was a source of great pride and joy for him, as well as a source of endless stories which he loved to recount even up to his last few days. Besides the railroad, and after retirement, Mario was most at home gardening and tending to his figs, grapes and kiwis which he generously shared with family, friends, neighbours and anyone that stopped by to admire his garden. You could find him at all hours of the day and night, making sure everything was under control and tended to in the yard. Mario also enjoyed making wine, including some from his own vines, and every fall he was busy setting up his workshop in the garage.

We are grateful to the doctors and nurses that took such good care of Mario during his brief stay at Burnaby General Hospital.

Visitation will be held at Bell & Burnaby Funeral Chapel, 4276 Hastings Street, Burnaby on December 28, 6 - 8 pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Jude's Parish & Shrine, 3078 Renfrew Street, Vancouver on December 29 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the School Gardens Program, which strives to connect children and youth to their food, classmates, nature and community by delivering inclusive and interactive programming on environmental and food literacy education for K-12 at schools, municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations in the local community: https://spec.bc.ca/school-gardens/