ウィル・サッソさんのインスタグラム写真 - (ウィル・サッソInstagram)「Late last month my Father, Antonio Sasso, passed peacefully, sitting in his comfortable chair. He was 83 and died the way he lived - with stoic humility and quiet strength. He and my Mother were born in Naples, Italy just before WWII. They met as teenagers and stayed together through courtship, marriage, three children, and five grandchildren – nearly 70 years. My Babbo (Italian for “Dad”) sailed in the Italian Navy, learning English by correspondence on The Amerigo Vespucci while the rest of the ship slept. He worked in upscale restaurants and hotels across Europe, North America, and South America before bringing my Mother, Sister, Brother, and other close family to Canada in the mid-1960s, where he worked at The Hotel Vancouver until the 1990s. Tony was Italian by blood, but Canadian in spirit – his love of nature and wide open spaces filled our free time with camping trips and weekend adventures. He balanced his commitment to hard work and fitness with a Zen-like philosophy on stillness. My Dad preached patience and taught me the difference between patience and time. He didn’t talk to talk, he preferred to observe – when he spoke, it was memorable. Hard to forget my monolithic Father, in his Italian accent and deep voice, paraphrasing ancient Chinese proverbs as he told me to sit idly by the river and watch my enemy float by. A decade back, Dad beat cancer, but lost his ability to speak and was altered physically. Over these past 10 years he toughed it out like a battle-tested old lion, turning away speech aids and refusing a walker. he communicated with us fully and moved like a statue come to life. It’s been a very inspiring last stand and he did it all for Mom – his infinite love for her still surrounds us. He loved his family, stuck his neck out for people, took risks, and demolished challenges. The older I get, the more I learn from his tree trunk principles. Over the past several years, I’ve been fortunate to candidly discuss my Father’s mortality with him. When he crossed over he was at peace, so I am at peace. He readied me for it the way he did everything – honestly. If you feel the muse sometime, please raise a glass to Tony