It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Dr. Luigi Casella, who left us peacefully on November 2, 2024, at Michael Garron Hospital, aged 94. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle – who was known to his friends and loved ones as Gino. A cardiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto for more than 50 years, Dr. Casella was greatly loved by his many patients, colleagues and medical students. He took great joy in teaching, transmitting his enthusiasm to all around him, and winning countless teaching awards. In 2008, he co-founded the teaching website https://ecgmadesimple.ca/ which is used internationally as a teaching resource. The “Dr. Luigi Casella Award in Cardiology” was established at the University of Toronto in 2023 as a grant to cardiology residents.
Born in Portici (Naples, Italy) on May 20, 1930, he was the eldest of eight children born to esteemed agriculture professor Domenico Casella and devoted homemaker Emilia Romano. He studied medicine at the University of Naples, and after an internship and residency in New York City, he emigrated to Toronto, joining St. Michael’s Hospital as a resident in 1959.
He married social worker Margaret Elizabeth Headrick in 1962 and was heartbroken at her passing in 2021. They had a nearly 60-year marriage, sharing a love of cooking, world-wide travels and weekends at their country ‘Schoolhouse’ on Irish Lake near Flesherton, Ontario. He will be greatly missed by his daughter Emilia, son John, daughter-in-law Lamthong (Bon), and grand-daughters Vanessa, Madilynn and Sabreena. His sisters Anna and Maria mourn him in Italy, along with his many nieces and nephews who knew him as Zio Gino.
A funeral service will be held at 10 am on November 11, 2024, at the Mt. Pleasant Funeral Centre, with visitation starting at 9 am. Address: 375 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the "Dr. Luigi Casella Award in Cardiology" at the following link: https://uoft.me/Casella
Donors giving online will receive a tax receipt via email. Family and friends can also donate over the phone by calling 416-978-0811

Funeral details are below. Please note that there is a Remembrance Day event on the west side of the cemetary (between Mt. Pleasant and Yonge St) on Monday at 11 am. Dr. Casella's funeral will take place on the east side of the cemetary, entering off Mt. Pleasant Road, at 10 am, with visitation at 9 am. For those wishing to linger, there will be a small reception afterwards, and internment (on the west side of the cemetery) will take place after 12:00.