March 8, 1943 – July 5, 2020

Ida Costantino was born on March 8th, 1943 in a small town called Malito, Cosensa, Italy. Her mom ‘s name was Marianina Sirianni born in 1922 and father Giovanni Maio born in 1920. She had 3 brothers and 3 sisters, 2 of which are deceased.

Mom grew up in this community where she attended school and helped support their family who lived in a rural setting, largely reliant on the produce generated in their small farm, as well as the local market. When Mom was 16 her father told her to emmigrate to Canada in order to live a better life than what could be expected in Italy. Of course the custom in the Italian culture at the time was to honor the wishes of your elders, so Mom decided to make the move. Soon after which was in 1959, Mom, along with her Aunty Nella and cousin Theresa boarded a ship destined to Halifax, Canada. This journey was then followed by an equally long Trans Canada train ride to a place called Kamloops, BC which of course was a far-away place that Mom did not even know existed.

As such a young person at the time this must have been a very frightening experience to leave the safe haven of home and travel to a new world unknown to her. Fortunately, however, our father Agostino Fioro Costantino saw a beautiful protrait of Mom, fell in love, and asked her father for her hand in marriage. During those days going to Canada as an immigrant the visa was good for only 29 days so Mom and Dad were married right away and moved to Savona where dad was working as a CN railroad worker.

In 1961, Ida’s first born child Maria came into her life so they all moved to a new home on Linden Avenue in North Kamloops. Soon after Giovanna, Anna and Mirella came along, resulting in the addition of 4 kids in 4 years to the Costantino family. Needless to say, Ida’s life had changed dramatically in a very short period of time. To this day it is unbelievable how she was able to cope with this. When you compare to today’s world where raising young children is now more of a group effort involving the mother, father, grandparents, friends, etc…, Mom had no help other than the help that Dad would provide when he was not working or otherwise providing for the family. We remember Mom talk about how she would take her 4 girls and put them into a box, tie a rope around her waist and drag the girls around so she could do her housework. I have no idea how this could possibly work but it worked for her and that’s all that matters.

In the late 1960’s her sister Liliana and brother Ross emigrated to Canada to live with them so they could get established in Kamloops. This was a major turning point for Ida, in having two of her siblings close to her once again. They would later prove to be very supportive in the upbringing of the children. Ida had great appreciation for this support right up to recent times. During those days came some hardships, but my Mom and Dad did everything they could to make ends meet. Maintaining a large garden was always an effective way of subsidizing the grocery bill. We recall the many years where Mom would harvest large quantities of a variety of fruits and vegetables, where she would freeze or can the products they were able to produce. We also recall the many animals that they would raise in their yard including chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats and other critters. Mom would always willingly deal with the unpleasant task of harvesting, packaging and preparing these food items that were so essential in raising a young family of six. With that said, Mom and Dad always had enough food on the table but sometimes they did not have enough milk for everyone. Milk in those days were delivered at the door in bottles, but they always did their best.

To further provide for their family, Ida would go with her husband in the evening to clean offices to provide other forms of income. In addition, Nana had another job during the day as a chambermaid at the Stockmen’s Hotel which brought in a few more badly needed dollars. Later on she took a job at Tranquille School where she worked in the linen department. As we reflect on her life now, we are so respectful of the effort she put into building and supporting our family. What an incredible woman.

In 1971, Dad who was then working as an equipment operator at the city of Kamloops, decided to build a new home on Cherry Avenue. Later, in the winter of 1973, her sister Liliana was married during a winter storm to our Uncle Joe who was a hard working individual and successful businessman. Aunt Liliana and Uncle Joe lived in our basement during the construction of their new home which was immediately next door on Cherry Avenue. Liliana proved to be a greatly supportive figure for my Mom in raising our family. We are always grateful for her support during those years. On their wedding day a blizzard blew their heart shape decoration into the air while Auntie Lily stood there in her high heels in the deep snow. Not something she would have been used to seeing in Italy.

Mom and Liliana had a very close bond they would occasionally stand in the front steps of their home and just talk for hours about their family. The children were always hugged and loved by both of them. Soon after Liliana and Joe had a family of their own with the addition of Melisa, Marylee and Michael. These kids were a huge part of Moms life and she provided the same support for Liliana during those early years. Cherry Avenue was a busy place in those days.

The Christian faith was always a big part of the Costantino family and Mom put all of the girls through OLPH for elementary school. Sunday Mass was never missed, which is a true testament to Moms commitment to the Church. To this day, Mom was and remains very close to God.

Ida was an amazing Mom, who nurtured her girls throughout their youth. She taught them about values, principles and passed on her never ending love for family. As time went by Ida’s girls got married and gave her 7 grandchildren (Mathew and Kimberly Jaccard, Rayanna Costantino, Chelsea and Connor Clough, and Dylan and Sydney Kreps) and to date 3 great grandchildren (Olivia, Henry and Sofia). Even though Mom’s girls often lived far away, she was always there to assist the family when new babies came along and she provided infinite level of support for her daughters in raising their families. Mom was always there for her family especially for her granddaughter Rayanna. Mom would take her to school, doctor’s appointments or whatever else was needed for her. Mom was a beautiful person inside and out. She always smiled and gave many hugs and kisses to her children.

Mom and Dad travelled to Italy 3 times, one of which with her entire family where we visited her Mom and Dad who she missed very much. They were able to introduce all of us to our Nana & Nono and several uncles and many cousins , a trip she would never forget. Many years later Mom and Dad went back to Italy with daughter Mirella and her husband Darin. Then in 1996 Gus and Ida, traveled once again with Uncle Ross and Aunty Maria. This was her last visit where should could see her Mom our Grandmother before their passing. Mom cherished her time with all her relatives and they shared many memorable stories over large family gatherings during this trip.

We will always remember the many wonderful Christmas celebrations at Cherry Avenue where Mom spent hours and hours preparing massive amounts of food. Where most families would enjoy a turkey dinner, Mom would prepare a turkey, a ham, a huge lasagna, a large plate of cutlets, bakala … on and on it goes, but needless to say no one left the Christmas dinner table hungry. We can always remember her son in laws crawling away from the Christmas dinner table to find a spot on a couch, with a full feed of delicious Christmas food. Of course this was also the case at Easter and other occasions each year. Furthermore, it was a given that anyone visiting the Costantino house at any time could not eat until they have had something to eat.

Mom ‘s favorite pass time, aside from the constant doting over her kids, was knitting blankets for the babies, crocheting and baking for the family. Mom’s favorite bake goods were Almond & Apricot cookies, Grispelle for Christmas occasions and Easter bread called Gurrugula. During harvest season canning, and eating figs and chestnuts is what she enjoyed the most.

We will miss our amazing, beautiful mother who is now with her Mom and Dad, Brother Tony, Brother in Law Joe Posteraro and niece Mary Lee Posteraro, and the Angels of God. Mom, we love you and thank you for bringing us into this world and for providing a safe and stable life. We now celebrate your life as a loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother.

Rest in Peace Mom we will never forget you.

You may express condolences by visiting Schoening Funeral Service.

• Date : 2020-07-05
• Location : Kamloops, BC