elevated 8KsIB Nicola Colaianni passed away peacefully on May 18th, 2020 at 12:01pm.  

elevated 8KsIB He was born December 27, 1934, in the beautiful town of Cansano, Italy.  He lived there until 1954, when he immigrated to meet his father in Toronto who had previously arrived in Canada to start a new future for his family.    In 1957, Nicola traveled to meet his bride Nilla from Italy where her and her family resided.  There, Nicola and Nilla were married.  Shortly after the wedding they arrived back in Canada and Nicola immediately began working in the construction industry and later became a construction entrepreneur.  His granddaughter, who had nothing but love and admiration for him, followed in his footsteps.  He also became actively involved in politics, community, social organizations as well as numerous other causes to help others in need.  Although, the days were long and hard, he lived with his parents and family in a small flat, and always found great joy in life.  Every Friday night the family would unite, play the accordion, sing and eat large plates of pasta and polenta, until the wee hours of the morning.
After a few years of being settled in Canada he and his father Donato dedicated themselves to helping numerous families from Italy immigrate to Canada.  He sponsored them and housed them in his home until they were able to be on their own.   In the few days after his passing, Nicola’s family received countless emails and calls from others expressing gratitude for all of the things he had done for them – most of which they were previously not aware of.  
Nicola was a selfless, dedicated, hard working, family-oriented individual.  He was always happy, always had a smile on his face, always saw goodness in everyone and never hesitated to help someone in need no matter how small or large the problem was.  One universal theme reiterated by everyone who shared their condolences was that Nicola was “the kindest, gentlest man, who always made people laugh with his humour and brought joy to all with his infectious smile”.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years Nilla, his daughter Marie, his granddaughter Sabrina, his grandson Joseph Nicholas and his wife Giulia, his precious joy and newborn great grandson Julian Nicholas, his sister Josephine and husband Michael and family, his sister-in-law Pasqua and family, his sister-in-law Flora and family, his sister-in-law Melba and family as well as his many cousins, nephews, nieces and countless friends in Toronto, Montreal Vancouver, New York, Boston, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Italy and Australia.
The family wishes to share a beautiful prayer sent to the family from a dear family friend:
A Dad “Gods Masterpiece”
God took the strength of a mountain
The majesty of a tree
The warmth of the Sun
The calm of the quiet sea
The generous soul of nature
The comforting arm of night
The wisdom of all the ages
The power of the eagle’s flight
The God combined all these qualities
When there was nothing more to add
He knew his Masterpiece was complete
And so he called it, DAD…..
Forever resting now in Gods peace.

elevated 8KsIB You may not be with me any more, but my love for you will never die, I miss you DAD.

elevated 8KsIB In lieu of flower, donations to Toronto General Hospital Foundation would be appreciated by the family.   Please visit http://tgwhf.ca/tribute or call 4166 603 5300.

elevated 8KsIB A Funeral Mass and Celebration of Life will be held once permissible.  Details will be available at such time

elevated 8KsIB  

elevated 8KsIB