Clelia Lunatici and Sergio Bertolami

Clelia and Sergio Bertolami

​My name is Clelia (Elia) Bertolami.  I was born June 22, 1926 in Pontecosi, Lucca, Toscani, Italy.  My father was not in favour of the fascist regime, so he immigrated to England, where Mom and I joined him when I was eight years old.

When Italy declared war on Britain, my father was one of the hundreds of Italian men rounded up and deported to a concentration camp on the Isle of Man. Alone and scared, mother and I stayed in our house in London with only candles for light, hiding behind blackened windows and surviving on rationed food.  We were terrorized, so my mother decided to apply to the Italian Embassy for help. We embarked on a treacherous three week journey back to our homeland, where we were taken in by my grandparents (Olinto and Isolina Turri). We lived with them until the end of the war.

In the early fifties, the political situation in Italy was unstable.  So, my husband, Sergio, young son, Attilo (Ilio), my mother, Rosa (Turri) and I made plans to immigrate to Canada.  In 1957, we came straight to Kelowna, BC, where I had two uncles; Sam and Pietro Turri, an aunt, Clelia Martinelli, and several cousins.

As I was a trained teacher, I got a job as a primary teacher and taught in the Kelowna area for 28 years.  My husband, Sergio, worked for the Provincial Government in Kelowna as a soil lab technician until he passed away in 1987.

In 1962, our daughter, Angela, was born and we were happily settled in Canada.  I am now 94 years old.  My children visit me and take good care of me.  I’m now living at Chartwell Retirement Residence, where I am well looked after.

Clelia Lunatici Bertolami