Aldo Meli

Mr. Aldo Meli of Lethbridge, beloved husband of Antonietta Meli, passed away peacefully at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital Thursday, October 14th, 2021, at the age of 90.

Aldo was born on October 27th, 1930 in Napoli, Campania, Italy to parents Giuseppe and Erminia Meli. He was one of six children. As a child growing up in Italy, Aldo loved to swim, dive, and fish in the Bay of Napoli. In 1951, Aldo met the love of his life Antonietta and they became inseparable. Aldo immigrated to Canada in 1954 and Antonietta soon followed. They were married on April 13th, 1955, at St. Basil’s Catholic Church, in Lethbridge, AB.

Aldo and Antonietta began their new life together and he quickly put his skills as a tradesman to work to provide for their growing family. Despite the challenges of a new country, and language, Aldo found ways to utilize his artistry and for most of his career would work for himself as a highly skilled painter.  He also loved gardening and shared their large backyard crop with many friends and neighbours, especially the greenhouse tomatoes! Aldo was proud of his Italian heritage and as one of the founding members of the Lethbridge Italian Canadian Cultural Centre, he helped build the hall from the ground up.

Aldo was devoted to his family and made sure that there was always time for gathering with loved ones. The traditions of making homemade sausage, wine, and pasta from scratch are happily ingrained in his family.  As time went on the family continued to grow, but Aldo always made sure there was a seat for everyone at the ever-extending dining room table. This time was filled with great stories, delicious food, lots of laughter, and plenty wine of course!

Aldo was a loving husband to Antonietta for 66 years and will be deeply missed. He took great pride in his 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren; they will hold their father, nonno, and bisnonno in their hearts forever. Son Joe (Leslie) Meli grandchildren; Lindsay and Ashley. Son Tony Meli (Jackie) grandchildren; Tara (Shaun; Vienna and Vallyn), Devin (Erika; Ayden, Easton, and Quinn), and Peter. Daughter Rosie Kenna (Shawn) grandchildren; Karli (Daryl; Zakkary, and Parker), and Kimberli. Daughter Patti (Brent) Ruby grandchildren; Nathan and Isabella (Shawn).

Aldo was predeceased by his parents Giuseppe and Erminia Meli, and Antonietta’s parents Antonio and Anna Maria Rinaldi. Aldo will be missed by his siblings Armando dec. (Anna) Meli, Antonio (Lena) Meli, Mario dec. (Ciara dec.) Meli, Rosaria dec. (Danny dec.) Antulov, Rosita (Pepino dec.) Lombardi. As well as, Antonietta’s siblings Salvatore dec. (Lina) Rinaldi, Tina dec. (Angelo dec.) Pantaleo, Carmen (Franco dec.) Bauduin, John dec. (Susan) Rinaldi and predeceased by their son Oliver Rinaldi. Aldo will be forever loved by his large extended family spanning from Italy to Canada.

The family is very grateful for the loving care that Aldo received from Dr. M. Cassis and Dr. M. Wong, along with Dr. S. Zielke and the medical staff at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital.

A Private Family Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 am MST, on Saturday, October 23, 2021. The family invites those who wish to view the service via livestream, to follow the link at the bottom of Aldo’s online obituary: https://www.mbfunerals.com/obituary/Aldo-Meli.

Flowers are gratefully declined; a donation can be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association or Heart & Stroke Foundation. Aldo’s family feel the best way you can honour him is to keep your families strong, together, and be kind to one another.

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