Leonardo Passera

I was born on August 29, 1936 in Tarcento, a town in the north-eastern Friuli region of Italy. My father was a carpenter who worked not only in Italy, but also in France and Germany, depending on the season. He worked hard to provide for my mother and my family, which was no easy task seeing as I am the youngest of eight children (seven boys, one girl).

After completing my studies in elementary school, I studied for another six years learning Building Design. At the same time, I worked as a bricklayer's apprentice while still in Italy.

At 20 years of age, I made the difficult decision to move to Canada. Job opportunities were scarce in Italy and I had heard that there were many in Canada. I left my parents in 1956 and made the journey across the ocean on my own.

The journey on the Homeric ship was non-eventful along the Mediterranean. Once on the Atlantic Ocean however, the water was very rough and I was seasick for the remainder of the voyage. I recall that the ship's crew placed ropes along the hallways so that passengers had something to hold on to while attempting to walk around the ship. They also had to place metal coverings over the windows as a defense in the event that the strong waves smashed out the windows.

Once I arrived in Canada, I was fortunate that two of my brothers had already made the journey and had settled in the Toronto area. I made my way from Halifax by train to their home. I was also lucky to find work immediately as a bricklayer. I was paid $1.20 an hour at that time. I worked as a bricklayer until my retirement 40 years later and now am able to rest and leisurely work in my garden.

I met my wife-to-be, Vanda Gatto, through a Young Christian Workers Group at our church. We were married in 1964 and have to children, Livio and Elsa, of whom we are very proud. I was very fortunate to have met Vanda and to have built a life for all of us in Canada.