Angela Fanni

Angela Fanni (née Pretto), beloved daughter, sister, mother and nonna, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 24, 2019 at the age of 95. Born in Cornedo Vicentino, Italy in 1924, she grew up with nine siblings: Ernesta, Maria, Remigio, Domenico, Marino, Veronica, Drosolina, Clotilde, and Rita. During World War II, Angela spent her teenage years sending food to her brothers and other members of the partigiani, resistance groups who fought against fascist Italo-German forces. Finding employment as a silk-worker after the war, Angela eventually married and emigrated to Canada, landing in Halifax with her infant daughter, Paula.

Moving to Val-d'Or, Quebec, Angela gave birth successively to two more children, sons she named Valter (Walter) and Giovanni (Johnny). Angela and her growing family settled in Brampton in 1964, eventually giving birth to two more sons: Mario and Roberto (Robert). Angela and the Fanni family also welcomed turtle doves, cats and dogs to the household, all the while raising rabbits (Mimi was the favourite) in their backyard. As Angela’s children grew up, the family enjoyed regular trips to Heart Lake, Wasaga Beach, and even Italy, where Angela would bring her family to visit her siblings and other relatives. Angela further kept this connection to her roots alive by becoming an active member of the Italian Cultural Centre of Brampton, where (along with her children) she helped the Centre prepare for the Carabram festival every year.

At the age of 62, Angela welcomed Tyler, her first grandchild, into the family and would become a loving nonna to three more grandchildren: Zachary, Brandon and Rebecca. Angela lived close, in both a literal and figurative sense, to her family and was always available to join her grandchildren on adventures and sneak them an endless variety of treats. At least one day each week, her grandchildren would enjoy nonna’s home cooking and would eventually try to do their best to replicate her delicious dishes. Angela also shared a close, inseparable bond with her special-needs son, Mario, and strove ceaselessly to get him involved in many activities, including hockey and baseball. Angela’s love of sport also extended to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and she would never miss a chance to watch a game or tell the coaches (in Italian) how to run their team.

Overall, Angela bound her family together with her passionate, gregarious personality and steadfast dedication to those she loved. In the end, she passed away surrounded by the family she had worked so tirelessly to love and support. Angela is survived by her sisters, Drosolina, Clotilde, and Rita, and she will be dearly missed by all of her children, Paula (Nick), Walter (Sherry), Johnny, Mario and Robert, and her grandchildren, Zachary, Brandon and Rebecca.