Alessandro “Alex” Messina: Refugee. Olympian. Household man. Vivacious. Born Aug. 30, 1941, in Fiume, Italy; died Aug. 20, 2022, in Markham, Ont., of most cancers; aged 80.
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Alex Messina.Courtesy of household
Alex was born right into a world at conflict, the second youngster of Lea and Nino Messina. He remembers carrying home-baked bread to a close-by Allied prisoner-of-war camp along with his mom. In trade, he was typically given a sq. of chocolate from the Pink Cross POW care package deal, an actual deal with for younger Alex.
After Alex’s father died of tuberculosis and Yugoslavia’s postwar annexation of Fiume left them stateless, Lea took her two youngsters to Venice. In the course of the subsequent 4 years, the household endured a hardscrabble existence that included two years in Displaced Individual camps in Italy. Throughout that point, Alex’s most treasured possessions have been a tin cup and a pocketknife.
Lea was tenacious and wished the very best for her youngsters, and that meant a brand new life in Canada. After years of functions, the household arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax in October 1951. They have been assigned to a DP camp close to Toronto. Alex was grateful for a heat mattress, new footwear and a full stomach.
The Messinas settled in Windsor, Ont., and endured grinding poverty, alienation, discrimination and the stigma of being displaced individuals for a number of years. After struggling to slot in in school, Alex dropped out at age 13 and labored as a bicycle supply boy. An opportunity encounter with a biking fanatic launched him to the world of street biking. His life modified the primary time he sat on a racing bike – it was an ideal match – and Alex lastly felt as if he belonged. Quickly he was successful races. He additionally caught a break when a household good friend bought him a job as an apprentice draftsman at a big Toronto firm. He flourished at work and on the racing circuit, and in 1960, he received the Canadian Highway Novice Championship and a spot on the Canadian Olympic biking staff for the seventeenth Olympic video games in Rome. He was simply 19.
After the Olympics, Alex targeted on his work and have become a well known mechanical designer. Someday in 1966, he noticed a wonderful younger lady outdoors his Toronto residence. Smitten, he engineered a gathering and requested her for a date. “No, you possibly can’t,” Marie Maiola replied. “I’m Italian, and I can not date until you first communicate with my father.” Undeterred, Alex received over Marie’s household, and shortly they have been in love. A 12 months later they married, and in 1971 they welcomed their first youngster, Steve. 4 years later Brian arrived. Alex appreciated to say that “two of the very best days of my life have been the primary days of my sons’.”
His profession prospered, engaged on prestigious tasks together with Toronto’s CN Tower and Metropolis Corridor. Finally, he fashioned his personal firm, AVAM. He loved it a lot that he joked, “I’m embarrassed to be paid for my work.”
However the trauma of Alex’s childhood by no means left him. Nothing was taken without any consideration. He cherished and treasured Marie endlessly, crediting her for all of the happiness in his life. He by no means missed a chance to point out his sons his affection at the same time as they grew into males, saying “the one remorse I’ve in life isn’t having extra youngsters.”
In 2005, he grew to become a grandfather and the function suited him completely. “Who loves ya? Grandpa does!” was one thing Andrew and Matthew heard typically. The household additionally listened to Alex’s countless provide of details, as he continuously “educated” them with all he knew. Alex additionally wasted nothing. Given his tough begin in life, he repaired nearly all the things and by no means noticed a necessity to purchase one thing new.
In 2021, he was recognized with terminal most cancers. He died along with his household by his aspect, however they treasure a guide he accomplished a couple of months earlier. He wrote about his life, titling it: No Complaints, Simply the Info.
Alex was a proud Canadian, deeply grateful for the alternatives afforded him. He was fond of claiming, “I’m Canadian – I used to be born in Italy by mistake!”
Joanne Messina is Alex’s daughter-in-law.
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