March 1, 1935 - November 18, 2013
Luigi passed away peacefully in Grand Forks Boundary Hospital, surrounded by his family after a long battle with lung cancer. Luigi was born in Bocchigliero, Cosenza, Italy. He came to Canada in 1954 to work for Cominco in Trail, BC. He married his young wife, Maria in 1965 and together they raised their daughters, Viviana and Linda. He was an active member of the Colombo Lodge and the Italian Community. After retiring from Cominco in 1992, he and Maria moved to Christina Lake where he had built a new home for them. Luigi was a master craftsman, trained from the time he was ten years old by his brother in law Pietro. His specialty was building cabinets and fine furniture but Luigi could also build anything and fix everything! He loved nature and enjoyed spending time outside chopping wood, watching the birds, and especially sitting in his favourite chair on the deck admiring his view of the lake. Luigi loved the Fall because it was the time for wine making, harvesting tomatoes, making sausage and picking wild mushrooms. But most of all, Luigi treasured his family, especially his grandchildren.
Luigi is predeceased by his parents Antonio Abenante and Teresa Funaro; his brothers: Guiseppe, Saverio, Vincenzo, and Olindo Abenante; his brother in laws Gabrielle Ruggiero, Pietro Chiarelli, Domenico Santoro and Antonio Filippelli. As well as, many other friends and relatives.
Luigi is lovingly survived by his wife Maria, his daughter Viviana (Brian) Monaghan, granddaughters Megan and Bethany; his daughter Linda (Joe) O’Donoghue, grandsons Declan and Brynn; his sisters Serafina Chiarelli, Rosina Ruggiero, Maria Santoro and Graziella Filippelli.
A funeral mass and reception will take place on Saturday, November 23rd at 11:00am at The Christina Lake Community Hall at 90 Park Road, Christina Lake, BC.
Through his long and complicated illness, Luigi had many doctors, specialists, nurses, home support workers and care aids. We would like to sincerely thank all of them. We are grateful for their support, care and guidance.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the B.C. Cancer Foundation – website: bccancerfoundation.com; 150-686 W. Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1G1.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Deborah Baker of Grand Forks Funeral Home, gffh@shaw.ca.