Santo and Carmela Giordano

Santo and Carmela Giordano

Santo Giordano, 1966

Santo (Sandy) Giordano, the son of Nicolas Giordano and Agatha Spadafora, was born on August 4, 1893 in the province of Consenza, Calabria, Italy.  A ship’s manifest has Santo arriving in New York on November 22, 1911, heading to Vancouver. Travelling with him were two of Agatha’s relatives:  Giovanni Spadafora was on his way to meet his father, Ignazio and Andrea Gallo was on his way to meet his father, Carmine.  Santo met Carmela (Mildred) Immaculata Gallo in Fernie, BC and they were married on June 26, 1920.  Carmela was born May 27, 1899 in Spizanno, Picola, Cozemza, Calabria (now known as Casali del Manco).  She came to Canada in 1901 with her grandfather, grandmother, and two uncles.  Soon after their marriage the couple moved to Middletown, BC.  Santo worked for the mine for a few years, tending to one hundred mine horses which he trained for the mine and for delivering coal to the households.  His occupation on the Voters List was harness maker.

Santo and Carmela had five children in Middletown: Adelaide Rose (Lillian) in 1921, Mary Lorraine in 1922, Nicholas Albert in 1924 (he died of whooping cough at three months of age), Louis Arthur in 1925 and Raymond Anthony in 1927.  They moved to Natal where they had three more boys; Robert Ralph (Bob) in 1929, Joseph Gary in 1932, and Charles Edward in 1935.

Carmela had some health problems, so the doctors advised the Giordanos to find a warmer and drier climate to live. In 1938 the opportunity arose to move to Kelowna.  Unable to find work in Kelowna, Santo remained with his job in Michel until 1943 when he found a landscaping / vineyard foreman job in Kelowna.  He was also known to prepare food for wedding banquets held at the church hall.

The 1953 Voter’s List had the family living in Prince Rupert with Sandy doing janitorial work at the Empress Hotel.  By 1957, sons Raymond and Joseph were listed in Prince Rupert records, while Sandy and Carmella were back in Kelowna with Sandy again, working as a janitor.  During his retirement years he was elected as the first president of the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club.  Both Santo and Carmella died in 1971; Santo in Kelowna and Carmela in Delta.  Both are buried in Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery.
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Credit for the Santo and Carmela Giordano Story to Lily Hewer in the 2003 Giordano Reunion Book

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