With sorrowful sacred hearts, and in light of our most beloved family memories, we are sad to announce the passing of Leonardo Serravalle on January 19th, 2019.
Leonardo immigrated from Calabria, Italy at sixteen years old with big dreams and a bigger heart and zest for life. Charismatic, joyful, humorously sarcastic, and generous beyond belief, Leonardo built a family alongside a business from the ground up, based upon a reputation of integrity, principles, and faith in God. He was a man who successfully and like Frank Sinatra said, "did it his way" but after surviving an accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, he faithfully accepted his cross and inevitably, God's way.
He is survived by his devoted wife, Marcella, who nursed him with love and ultimate sacrifice; his three loyal sons, Dean, Frank, and Ryan; daughters-in-law, Vanessa, Nicki and Lauren; and eight grandchildren, Aidan, Sophia, Audrey, Oscar, Leonardo, Tobias, Alaia and London. The family has requested respect for privacy during this grieving period, and is grateful for all messages of support and love, hoping that contributions can be made to The Holy Rosary Church in Thorold, in Leonardo's memory.
Our Father - Leonardo Serravalle
When you left home for the first time
You cried
Or so you told me
To leave the mountains of your birth
The fig trees in your memory
The wild adventures on your motorbike
The faith of your father
But you landed on flatter earth
Colder air
A foreign language
And the hurt of an immigrant
To join family
To make your own
You were poor
But you gave to anyone who asked
You were poor
But you sent secret envelopes to churches You were poor But never so in heart, in love, in life
And so you worked
And so you worked harder
And so you risked every safety
To build dreams
To build sons
To build a life your way
And then you fell
Tripped upon a cross that
You would take up and carry
With your wife
With your children
With your grandchildren
With sadness
But always with hope
And now you are called
To another country
Like an immigrant again
With hope
With opportunity
But this time welcomed
In the arms of His love
-Dean, Frank and Ryan