Gino Cimbaro and Teresa But

At his brother's calling, Gino Cimbaro immigrated to Canada in January, 1955.  Gino was born in 1928 in Ciseriis.  As employment opportunities were scarce upon his arrival to the Okanagan, Gino held temporary jobs at the Stewart farms in Kelowna, CP Rail and Capozzi's sawmill in Carmi, BC.  In late 1955, He became employed as a munitions expert, at the Highland Bell Mine in Beaverdell.  In June, 1956, he married Teresa But of Tarcento, Udine, Italy (born 1938).  Teresa immigrated to Kelowna in December, 1956. Gino and Teresa were to reside in Beaverdell, BC. until 1961, at which time they bought a home on Oxford  Avenue.  In 1958, Gino survived a serious mining accident that was to leave him with a lifelong leg disability.  In 1967, Gino left Highland Bell Mine and worked for the Horne Silver Mine in Keremeos, BC for one year and then took on a position of pipe fit layer, for the Water Works Department, for the City of Kelowna.  He was to work there until his retirement in 1991.  Gino and Teresa have three children: Mary Anne, Tony and Peter.  Gino and Teresa moved to Bay Avenue in 1970 and in 1992,  their son Tony designed their retirement  home on Alta Vista.
  
Gino was one of the founders of the Kelowna Italian Club and was a member of the Alpini Club.  He had a great passion for gardening and was very generous with the bounty he grew, with his family and friends.  Teresa had fabulous sewing and needle work skills, which she had acquired while apprenticing with the nuns in Italy. She used these skills while volunteering  for Interior Health, at their retirement homes, for over 30 years.  Teresa was an active member of the Catholic Women's League, as well as a pastoral worker at St. Pius X Church.  She was also well known for the soups and perogies she made for the annual church fall bazaar.

Like many Italian immigrants that came to Canada, the Cimbaro elders arrived here in the hopes of a better life for themselves and their families.  The Cimbaro children would like to acknowledge the sacrifices their parents made in coming to Kelowna (leaving family, culture, a way of life) and in turn, the achievements they made (built homes, raised their  families, saw their children educated and advance in careers in medicine, education, civil and mechanical engineering,  and computer science, and contributed to the growth of their church and community).  This was done in spite of arriving here with limited language, financial resources and education.  Gino and Teresa leave a great legacy built by hard work, ingenuity, perseverance and a love for God and family.

Gino died in 2003.  He is laid to rest at the Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery.

Mary Anna Cimbaro, daughter