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On September 6, 2010, Gino passed away peacefully with family by his side at Poplar Ridge Pavilion at the age of 93.

Gino was born at home on January 25, 1917 and grew up on Rossland Avenue in the Gulch with his four brothers and two sisters. He called Trail home his entire life, raising his family and spending his retirement years in East Trail. A 40-year employee of the Cominco zinc plant, Gino retired in 1975 at the age of 58 and enjoyed over 30 years of retirement.

Gino served as a wireless operator in the RCAF in World War II and was stationed in Quebec and Gold River, British Columbia. The greatest disappointment of his military career was missing a tour of duty in India due to an unfortunate case of the mumps (however, the remainder of the family always considered this an exceptional bit of good luck). Gino made up for his disappointment by travelling extensively throughout his life, especially in the years following his retirement.

Following the War, Gino met and married his lifelong love Violet Casagrande, with whom he spent over 65 happy years. Vi and Gino had two children, Peter and Cindy, and two grandchildren, Michael and Alicia. In addition, Gino is survived by his siblings Mary, Gina and Etchie. He was predeceased by his brothers Spuds, Chippo and Fritz.

Gino loved to watch and participate in all sports. As a young man, he was an accomplished softball, lacrosse and basketball player. In his later years, he enjoyed skating, golfing, curling and swimming. Cycling was a lifelong passion that took him many places, including an inspirational trip across Canada at the age of 66, followed by a trip through Australia and New Zealand the next year. He loved to walk, hike and camp, and spent countless happy hours pursuing elusive huckleberries and rainbow trout in secret locations throughout the area.

Gino was a member of the Columbo Lodge for 70 years, as well as an active Legion member, where he enjoyed revisiting the War on Thursday afternoons over a couple of beers. Other global problems were solved weekday mornings over coffee at Waneta Plaza.

Gino was a familiar figure around Trail, whether he was riding his bike or walking through town, or watching curling or hockey at Cominco Arena and baseball at Butler Park. His humble demeanour and quick wit was an inspiration to us all. He had a smile, a kind word and a handshake for everyone, and will be greatly missed.

Gino requested that there be no public funeral. In celebration of his life, a memorial picnic table will be dedicated to him at Gyro Park at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the BC Heart and Stroke Foundation or the BCSPCA.

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to Gino’s Poplar Ridge family for the care, support and friendship they have given over the past few years. We thank you for making his difficult last few years more bearable for him.



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