Ida Costantino

March 8, 1943-July 05, 2020

It is with great sadness and heartache that we announce the passing of our Beautiful Mother, Ida (Maio) Costantino on Sunday, July 5, 2020.

Ida leaves behind her husband, Agostino of 60 years, her children, Maria (Richard) Jaccard, Giovanna Costantino, Anna (Randy) Clough and Mirella (Darin) Kreps, her grandchildren, Mathew (Rebecca) Jaccard, Rayanna Costantino, Chelsea (Curtis) Scott, Kimberly Jaccard, Dylan and Sydney Kreps and Connor Clough and her great grandchildren, Olivia and Henry Jaccard and Sophia Ida Scott.

Ida is predeceased by her parents, Giovanni and Marianina Maio and her sister, Rosina Maida, brother, Antonio Maio and two sisters who died at a very young age. She is also predeceased by her brother-in-law, Giuseppe (Joe) Posteraro and niece, MaryLee (Posteraro) Shannon.

Ida also leaves behind, her sister, Liliana Posteraro and brother, Rosario (Maria) Maio both of Kamloops and sister, Annamaria (Baptista) Maio Vecchio of Grimaldi, Cosenza and brother, Franco Maio of Malito, Cosenza, Italy and also her sister-in-law, Nicholina Maio.

Ida was born in Malito, Cosenza, Italy on March 8, 1943 and at a very young age of 17, came to live in Kamloops, BC. She came via boat in September, 1960 with her Nana Teresa, Zia Nella, cousins, Ferro and Teresa, who all immigrated to Canada, landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia where her soon to be husband was waiting for her. They then all travelled via train to Kamloops, BC.

In October 29th, 1960, they were married and settled in Kamloops, BC and had four lovely daughters. She loved to dress and comb her daughters’ hair so that they would all look adorable. Ida had her hands full so her sister, Liliana and brother, Rosario came to Canada to lend her a hand with all her small girls.

Ida was a kind and compassionate woman who cared deeply for her children and husband. She worked real hard cooking, baking, canning and cleaning her home for her family. Ida eventually had to look for work. Her first job was working at the Stockmen’s as a Chambermaid and she also helped her husband, Agostino clean offices for extra cash. She then later worked at Tranquille School in the Linen Department until they closed it in 1983. After the closure of Tranquille School, Ida decided to retire as the many years of hard and strenuous work caused her a lot of back pain and her hearing became worse because of the constant noise from the laundry machinery.

During her retirement, Ida loved gardening, planting her flowers and maintaining her home and property. She canned, baked yummy Italian treats, would sweat profusely making bread and made the best pizza ever. She would also prepare delicious meals for friends and family.

Her daughters eventually got married and gave her seven beautiful grandchildren who she adored very much. Ida had a great love for babies and when her grandchildren came along, she was overjoyed. Her grandchildren meant the world to her and they kept her busy when they came to visit. She would knit baby blankets for them all and she spoiled them every time they visited especially at every Birthday, Christmas and Easter celebration.

Mom had the joy of taking care of one granddaughter, Rayanna. Rayanna’s mom, Ida’s second oldest, was the only daughter who remained in Kamloops. She was a single mother and so Mom had the pleasure of caring, feeding and taking her to and from school. Mom enjoyed this very much. Ida loved to visit with her sister, Liliana and brother, Rosario and their families and they enjoyed many dinners together. She also spent many times calling and writing letters to her sister, Rosina who lived in Calgary. Mom was very close to her Zia Cristina who immigrated to Canada and also resided in Kamloops, BC and Mom loved to visit with her because she was one of her mother’s younger sisters. Mom also had many relatives who lived back East. There she had another two Zias who were also her mother’s younger sisters who were close and dear to her heart. They lived in Richmond Hill and Woodridge, Ontario. She would sometimes spend many hours talking with her Zia Elvira (Erbina) and Zia Adelina and she wrote many letters to them. Mom also had many nieces, nephews and cousins that she leaves behind.

The family would like to give special thanks to Dr. J.F. Howie and to all staff members of Pine Grove for our mother’s continuous care and compassion over the last 5 years.

Mom’s Celebration of Life took place as follows:

Prayers: Friday, July 10th, 2020 at 5:00pm at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Kamloops, BC;

Funeral Mass: Saturday, July 11th, 2020 at 11:30 am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church with Father Jaison Tellis, Celebrant and Entombment at Sage Valley Mausoleum.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in memory of Ida to The Alzheimer’s Society.

Eulogy below for those who could not attend the service

IDA COSTANTINO

Ida Costantino was Born on March 8th, 1943 in a small town called Malito, Cosenza, Italy. Her mother's name was Marianina Sirianni born in 1922 and father, Giovanni Maio born in 1920. She had 3 brothers, Rosario, Franco and Antonio and 4 sisters including herself, Rosina, Ida, Liliana and Annamaria. There were 2 other siblings that passed at a very young age.

Mom was raised in a small community town on a farm below the City of Malito where she attended school but only for a short time as she was needed to help on the family farm. The many vegetables and fruits they produced were mainly stored for the family. The animals they raised were sheep, chickens, pigs and 2 bulls. The family farm was made up of two large rooms. One for cooking and eating and the other was where the entire family slept. Below the family home was a room for the pigs they raised.

Our Mom was a beautiful girl and she told us that a photograph of herself was shown to our father from a relative. When our Mom’s dad heard of our father’s admiration of our Mom, he made her immigrate to Canada as he had too many mouths to feed and wanted his daughter to have a better life.

So in September of 1960, Mom who was 17, along with her Nana Teresa, Zia Nella, Ferro and Teresa her cousins, immigrated to Canada on a boat destined for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This journey was then followed by an equally long Trans Canada train ride to a place called Kamloops, British Columbia, which of course was a far away place that Mom did not even know existed. As such a young girl at the time, this must have been a very frightening experience to leave the safe haven of home and travel to a new world unknown to her. On their arrival into Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, Mom resided for a short time with her Zio Attilio, Zia Nella, Ferro, Teresa and her Nana Teresa in her Zio and Zia’s home on Surrey Avenue. During those days going to Canada as an immigrant, the visa was good for only 29 days so Mom and Dad were married on October 29th, 1960. As Dad was working in Savona as a CN Railroad Worker, they moved there into a very small trailer. Then the following year, on September 29th, 1961, Mom’s first child was born and they named her Maria. When Maria came into their lives, they all moved to a new home on Linden Avenue in North Kamloops. Soon after Giovanna, Anna and Mirella came along, resulting in the addition of 4 kids in 4 years to the Costantino family. Needless to say, Mom’s life had changed dramatically in a very short period of time. To this day it is unbelievable how she was able to cope with this. When you compare to today's world where raising young children is now more of a group effort involving the mother, father, grandparents, friends, etc..., Mom had no help other than the help that Dad would provide when he was not working or otherwise providing for the family. We remember Mom talk about how she would take her 4 girls and put them into a box, tie a rope around her waist and drag the girls around so she could do her housework. I have no idea how this could possibly work but it worked for her and that's all that matters.

In April of 1967, her sister, Liliana and brother, Rosario immigrated to Canada to live with them so they could give a helping hand to Ida and so they could get established in Kamloops. This was a major turning point for Mom in having two of her siblings close to her once again. They would later prove to be very supportive in the upbringing of the children. Mom had great appreciation for this support right up to recent times. During those days came some hardships but my Mom and Dad did everything they could to make ends meet. Maintaining a large garden was always an effective way of subsidizing the grocery bill. We recall the many years where Mom and Dad would harvest large quantities of a variety of fruits and vegetables and after would spend tireless hours canning and freezing all that they produced. We also recall the many animals that they would raise in their backyard including chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats and other critters. Mom would always willingly deal with the unpleasant task of harvesting, packaging and preparing these food items. Also during those times, these items were so essential in raising a young family of six. With that said, Mom and Dad always had enough food on the table but sometimes they did not have enough milk for everyone. Milk in those days was delivered at the door in bottles but they always did their best. To further provide for their family, Mom would go with Dad in the evening to clean offices to provide other forms of income. In addition, Mom had another job during the day as a chambermaid at the Stockmen's Hotel which brought in a few more badly needed dollars. Later on she took a job at Tranquille School where she worked in the Linen Department. As we reflect on her life now, we are so respectful of the effort she put into building and supporting our family. What an incredible woman.

In 1971, Dad who was then working as an Equipment Operator for the City of Kamloops, decided to build a new home on Cherry Avenue. In our new Cherry Avenue home, our Zia Liliana and her husband, Zio Joe came to live with us after they were married on December 22, 1971. They lived with us in our basement suite until the construction of their new home was finished, which was immediately just up the street on Cherry Avenue. Zia Liliana proved to be a greatly supportive figure for my Mom in raising our family. We were always grateful for her support during those years. Mom and Zia Liliana had a very close bond. They would occasionally sit on the front steps of our Mom’s home and just talk for hours about their family. The children were always loved and hugged by both of them. Soon after Zia Liliana and Zio Joe had a family of their own with the addition of MaryLee, Melisa and Michael. These kids were a huge part of Mom’s life and she provided the same support for Zia Liliana during those early years.

Cherry Avenue was a busy place in those days. The Christian faith was always a big part of the Costantino family and Mom put all us girls through OLPH for elementary school. Sunday Mass was never missed, which is a true testament to Mom’s commitment to the Church. To this day, Mom was and remains very close to God. Mom was an amazing Mom who nurtured her girls throughout their youth. She taught them about values, principles and passed on her never ending love for family. As time went by Mom's girls got married and gave her 7 grandchildren, Mathew and Kimberly Jaccard, Rayanna Costantino, Chelsea (Scott) Clough, Connor Clough and Dylan and Sydney Kreps and to date 3 great grandchildren, Olivia, Henry and Sofia. Even though Mom’s girls often lived far away, she was always there to assist the family when grandchildren came along and she provided infinite level of support for her daughters in raising their families. Mom was always there for her family especially for her granddaughter, Rayanna. Rayanna was the only granddaughter who lived in Kamloops. The others were too far for her to enjoy. So Rayanna was very lucky that from a tiny baby till about her mid 20s, she had her Nana all to herself. Mom made sure that Rayanna got to school and safely back to her house until her mother came home from work. Rayanna was greatly loved, fed and spoiled. If any of the other grandchildren had lived in Kamloops also, she would have done the same for them. Mom was a beautiful lady inside and out. She always smiled and gave many kisses and hugs to her children and grandchildren.

Mom and Dad travelled to Italy 3 times, one of which was with her entire family where we visited her Mom and Dad who she missed very much. They were able to introduce all of us to our Nana and Nono and several Zios and Zias and many cousins for the first time, a trip she would never forget. Many years later Mom and Dad went back to Italy with daughter, Mirella and her husband, Darin. Then in 1996, Mom and Dad travelled once again with Zio Rosario and Zia Maria. This was her last visit to Italy to see her Mom and Dad, our Nana and Nono before their passing. Mom cherished her time with all her relatives and they shared many memorable stories over large family gatherings during this trip.

We will also always remember the many wonderful Christmas celebrations at Cherry Avenue where Mom spent hours and hours preparing massive amounts of food. Where most families would enjoy a turkey dinner, Mom would prepare a turkey, a huge lasagna, a large plate of cutlets and bakala….on and on it goes but needless to say, no one left the Christmas dinner table hungry. We can always remember her son-in-laws crawling away from the Christmas dinner table to find a spot on the couch with a full belly of delicious Christmas food. Of course, this was also the case at Easter and other occasions each year. Furthermore, it was a given that anyone visiting the Costantino house at any time could not eat until they have had something to eat.

Mom's favorite pastime, aside from the constant doting over her kids, was knitting blankets for the babies, crocheting and baking for the family. Mom's favorite baked goods were Almond & Apricot cookies, Grispelle for Christmas occasions and Easter bread called Gurrugulo. During harvest season canning, and eating figs and chestnuts is what she enjoyed the most. We will miss our amazing, beautiful Mom who is now with her Mom and Dad, sister, Rosina Maida, brother, Antonio, brother-in-law, Giuseppe (Joe) Posteraro and niece, MaryLee (Posteraro) Shannon and all the Angels of God. Mom, we love you immensely and thank you for bringing us into this world and for providing a safe and stable life. We now celebrate your life as a loving Wife, Mother, Sister, Zia, Nana and Great Nana.

REST IN PEACE MOM, we will never, never forget you!!!!