Emilio was born on May 7, 1942 in Conegliano, about 1 hour north of Venice in Italy. He was the first born to Silvio Oliana and Iole Spinazze.
His early years were spent on the family farm which was relatively carefree despite being in the early years of WWII. The family emigrated to Canada when he was about 10 years old and settled in Laval, north of Montreal. He subsequently attended McGill University and became an accountant with a CA designation. He then worked for a few years for a local CA firm in Montreal.
When the Parti Quebecois was formed and became the ruling party of Quebec in 1970 he decamped to Ontario and settled in the GTA where he remained. He then worked for the CRA (Revenue Canada) as an auditor, specializing in the auditing of multinational corporations. He remained in that position until his retirement in 2008.
He met Alvin in 1990. They have been together ever since, and married in 2007.
Outside of work Emilio was passionate about travelling, especially cruising. His first cruise was a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to Quebec City and took 7 days with no stops. Most people would find that daunting but Emilio was hooked. Since then they would be on at least one cruise yearly, visiting mostly Europe but also South America and the Middle East. Highlights included visiting North Cape in Norway, Amazon River visiting Manaus, seeing Rio de Janerio and Iguazu Falls, and crossing the Panama and Suez Canals.
Along with the travelling Emilio also cultivated and refined his palate for fine wine and cuisine. He regularly sought out Michelin star restaurants while on holidays and he was well acquainted with Relais & Chateau properties. He favoured wines from his birthplace such as Prosecco and Amarones but he also enjoyed French and even Ontario wines.
Other interests included the performing arts, especially operas and symphonic music. In addition to the COC and TSO he also frequented Koerner Hall, and when in Europe he’d schedule the sightseeing itinerary around concert and opera performances. His first encounter with live opera was a 5 1/2 hour performance of Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner at the Metropolitan Opera. Again not to everyone’s liking but Emilio
just soaked it in, ignited a fire that lasted.
He also had a great eye for the visual arts, he made regularly visits to the AGO at home and when abroad he made sure he had time for museums and art institutions, especially in Europe. He was also an avid collector of indigenous art and sculptures.
He had a generous heart and would not hesitate in giving his time and energy to his friends and family. He did volunteer work for the AGO and the AIDS committee during the AIDS pandemic. He was loved by all who knew him well and he will be sorely missed.
He leaves behind his partner Alvin, his sister Graziella, his nephews Silvano Turrin and Eddie Turrin, his niece Sandra Turrin Poirier (Eric) and, eight great nephews, one grandnephew and one grandniece on the Turrin side. He also leaves his brothers-in-laws Simon Iu (Jodi), Howard Iu (Ines), sister-in-law Jean Iu (Rick), and 5 nephews and nieces on the Iu side.
