BATTISTON, Maria (nee Mio Bertolo) - Born January 4, 1923 Praturlone, Italy. Died December 12, 2018, Toronto, Canada.
Maria leaves her daughters Colette (Gentile), Marie Rose (Zanin), three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Italo.
Born and raised in Praturlone, Italy, Maria was one of nine children of Maria and Eugenio Mio Bertolo. Maria married Italo in 1946 and moved to France in same year. In 1957 Maria emigrated to Toronto with her daughters to join her husband.
Maria worked tirelessly to help establish her young family in Canada but never tired of telling heartfelt and animated stories of her childhood in Italy where she grew up in difficult times of war, as well as her early married life in France working at ‘Le Grand Garde’ in Montauban. Though she always spoke fondly of growing up in northern Italy and her time in France, she was especially proud of obtaining her Canadian citizenship in 1975.
Despite her age, Maria never stopped supporting her ever-growing family. We all will treasure the many blankets and needlepoint designs she created for us – a testament of her skills, passion and patience in mastering this skill many years before. Her cooking was special and second-to-none, though despite her superior culinary abilities, she was always eager to learn new recipes and give praise to the family’s aspiring chefs, regardless of the outcome.
Maria was a faithful Catholic and omnipresent figure in the St. Norbert’s Catholic Parish community. Her passion was singing and she was a member of the church choir for more than 40 years.
Public visitation will be held at Ward Funeral Home 2035 Weston Road, Weston, ON on Friday December 14th, from 2-4 and 6-9. A Mass of Christian burial will take place on December 15th, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Norbert’s Catholic Church with entombment to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
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