Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Today I heard the sad news that my Cousin Carmela Taranto passed away. A special lady who was always kind and always a genuinely good soul. My wife and I remember her kindness to us whenever we saw her which I am sad to say was not often enough and not recent. We both remembered an example fo the kind of person Carmela and her husband Mario were. Back in 1993 Steph and I were in Sault Ste Marie for Christmas, and on Boxing Day the temperature dropped so low that our Honda Civic was frozen and would not start. Not much was open and we were not sure how we would get back to London ON the next day. I was never any good at cars and would rather have given a complex anaesthetic to a sick patient than change a tire let alone know how to start a frozen car. It was cold out, and all we did was reach out to our cousin Mario Taranto who jumped into action, came over personally towed us to his home across the west end, and warmed up our car in his heated garage, including replacing some spark plugs. All the while Carmela made us coffee, fed us and opened up her home to us like she had done countless times when I was growing up. Mario would not take a penny for the time or effort and Carmela kept repeating how great it was that we got a chance to visit, and did we have time for more coffee and food! Sadly Mario died several years ago and now Carmela has gone to join him. Heartbreaking for us, but on some level I am sure she is happy to be reunited with her cherished husband. These two kind and generous people are gone but they live on in their wonderful children, my cousins Sam Taranto, Roberto Taranto and Anna Taranto Carpinelli. Rest in peace Carmella, a great woman who was dedicated to her family, and will be fondly remembered by Stephanie and I.
