Oreste Luigi Francescutti and Katie Lanfranco

Katie Lanfranco and Oreste Francescutti

Oreste Luigi Francescutti (Gigi) was born on March 6, 1905 in Casarsa, Pordenone, Friuli, Italy.  He was one of eight children of Davide Francescutti and Eliza Morasutti.  Gigi arrived in Canada in 1927 to meet his brother, Roberto, who was working in a coal mine near Edmonton, Alberta.  He moved on to Kelowna, BC, with friends, Dick Bertoia and Michele Davide (Dino) Dapavo.  In Kelowna, he met Enrichetta (Katie) Lanfranco  (born in Kelowna October 17, 1910) and married her on December 30, 1930.  

Luigi was a brick layer by trade.  Soon after their marriage, Katie and Luigi moved to Powell River, BC.  Luigi worked in the pulp and paper mill repairing the brickwork in the ovens.  By 1932, they were back to Kelowna, where daughter, Jean (Hurdle), was born in 1932 and son, Allan, in 1945.

Upon Gigi’s return to Kelowna, he teamed up with Jack Snider.  Jack and Gigi found a cabin near Lumby and began cutting railway ties.  Following this, Luigi began working in the masonry trade, in Kelowna, with Egidio Orsi.  Gigi and Katie also operated a small farm on KLO Road and later, acquired land on Gordon Road.  They raised hay and grew grapes and prunes.  Katie worked each fall for various Kelowna packing houses.  She was a very accomplished stitcher, creating many large art works, some taking up to a year to create.

In later years, Luigi and Katie undertook property management.  They moved houses from various parts of Kelowna and established them on new foundations in the Gordon and KLO Road areas.  During retirement, they began travelling, taking many bus tours.    Luigi passed away in 1985 and Katie in 2004.  They are laid to rest at Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Kelowna, BC.

Don Rampone