Giulia Benedetti
September 28, 1927 – February 25, 2025

It is with love and loss that we announce the peaceful passing of Giulia Benedetti, age 97, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. With the loving care of her family and her daughter Olga by her side, Giulia’s gentle spirit was reunited with her husband Giovanni (deceased 1996), her daughter Anna Maria (recently deceased Oct. 2024), and seven of her beloved siblings, after a long and beautifully healthy life.

One of eight surviving children, Giulia (née Fugaccia) was born on September 28, 1927, in the picturesque mountain village of Valdena, Borgo Val di Taro, in the province of Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, to parents Giuseppe Fugaccia and Rosa (née Gasparini). The youngest of her female siblings and a small baby at birth, infant Giulia was rushed to the local church for a prompt baptism, fearing she might not survive. But little Giulietta was strong—she thrived and went on to live a long, fulfilling life that would see her survive World War II, work the family homestead, and have the courage to choose a brave new life in Canada. She left the old mountains of her childhood to build a new life with strong roots and better opportunities for her young family.

Growing up under the guiding strength of her mother’s leadership (her father worked in England throughout her childhood), Giulia and her sibling’s early life was a mix of household chores and simple village fun. She would later regale her grandchildren with bucolic stories of caring for her goats and sheep in the fields, milking the cow, picking chestnuts, and riding her beloved donkey. Catching the eye of the neighboring Benedetti boy (a friend of her older brothers Pete and Joe whom she’d known for years), Giulia married Giovanni as a young woman in 1947. Soon, daughters Olga and Anna Maria were welcomed into their budding family amidst post-war Italy, where work was difficult to find. This forced Giovanni to Belgium to lay bricks in the coal mines while Giulia stayed in Valdena caring for her little girls, leaning on her indomitable mother for support. Giulia saved the money Giovanni sent back while planning where the family could build their future together.

The need for better opportunities was felt collectively by all siblings in the Fugaccia and Benedetti families. Giulia’s sister Maria, having recently married an Italian-Canadian soldier (Sam), was the newly Canadian connection who paved the way to bravely leave behind all they knew for the promise of a better future across the ocean.

Landing by ship in Nova Scotia on July 28, 1951, Giulia and Giovanni first found their footing in downtown Toronto. As for any new immigrants, life was a tough grind of shared accommodation, looking for work, and raising young children while trying to understand this new culture. Leaning on the mutual support of siblings, they helped each other navigate this new country, where they didn’t speak the language, relying on a strong work ethic and trade skills to build their new life—one brick at a time. Giulia and Giovanni proudly purchased their first home on Chestnut Crescent in 1955. In sheer relief and celebration of self-reliant freedom, Giulia recounted kissing the front threshold when she moved in! Giulia’s sister Ida and brother Joe bought neighboring houses (with Giovanni’s sister Linda and family a few doors away), creating a vibrant hub to raise their families together with the village spirit carried from Valdena. Giulia and Giovanni were thrilled to welcome their son Renato in 1962, with Olga and Anna Maria lending a hand as loving older sisters and babysitters. Giulia worked in the Dominion store’s meat department, always working hard to care for her family both inside and outside the home.

Giovanni led their next move out of the city to property on Rice Lake, where they built two houses, complete with a bountiful garden cultivated by Giulia’s green thumb. Extended family would flock to Rice Lake for fun weekends spent lounging under the cherry tree, playing cards, and enjoying the delicious meals Giulia tirelessly prepared from scratch: lasagna, pasta ‘schiuta,’ tortas (savoury and sweet), ‘minestra,’ risottos, ‘agnuletti in brodo’ for special occasions, and, of course, the ever-present ‘bouchelan.’ She would later joke about the labour of love that went into creating meals, saying it sometimes took three days to prepare a dish that would take three minutes to eat!

At Rice Lake, Giovanni couldn’t find reliable labourers, so Giulia worked with him on the building site for years. She put up scaffolding, mixed cement, carried bricks, and smoothed the newly laid joints. Integral to the family business, she worked shoulder to shoulder with her husband, who found her efforts far better—and much more affordable! After an exhausting, long day on site, she, of course, also prepared all meals, did the washing, and cleaned the house. Giulia would proudly say her muscles were as strong as a man’s! Together, their hard work paid off, creating a strong foundation for the whole family. With open arms, she welcomed her sons-in-law, Steve (with Olga) and Garry (with Anna Maria), whom she considered her sons.

Giulia became a Nonna in 1975 to granddaughter Sandy, then to Carla and Chris, and much later, to Emilia. They cherished fond memories with their Nonna at Rice Lake: playing bocce in the garden, walking in the conservation area, and tobogganing down the long driveway onto the lake. Later, Emilia loved her games of ‘31,’ for which Nonna always had plenty of quarters ready. Giulia was a young Nonna who prided herself on staying healthy and strong, never missing a morning up at 5 a.m. to stretch and do "Sit and Be Fit," something she continued well into her 98th year.

With Giovanni’s passing in 1996—sadly a year short of their 50th wedding anniversary—Giulia bravely made her next move to be closer to family in Pickering. Connecting with the social community of her condo building, Giulia kept busy with new friends: bowling, line dancing, day trips, and aquafit classes. She enjoyed traveling with family and relished the peaceful quiet of her well-earned and well-deserved retirement, with loving support in the logistics of life from Anna Maria and Garry.

In her 95th year, still completely ‘with it,’ Giulia entered the crowning era of her epic life journey, moving to the independent living community of Viva Pickering, where she found a renewed sense of ease and enjoyment with friendly, attentive staff. Saying proudly, “I’ve cooked enough,” she enjoyed going to the dining room for meals. Impressing her fellow residents with her positive attitude and agility, she attended exercise classes to the very end (always the oldest by far!).

It is with eternal love and gratitude that we celebrate the loving legacy of Giulia Benedetti—our dear Mum, Nonna, Zia, and Sister—whose long life, led with a gentle spirit, will be remembered forever by all who knew her and admired all she achieved.

Family and friends are invited to THORNTON CEMETERY & FUNERAL CENTRE, 1200 Thornton Road North, Oshawa, (South of Taunton Road and off of Dryden Blvd, 905-579-6787) on Saturday, May 31, 2025. Visitation will be held in the chapel from 10:00 AM until time of memorial service at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow.