Imelda Porcellato left her mark on Guelph's Italian-Canadian community

The Italian-Canadian community in Guelph may not be the same without the loving, subtle influence of Imelda Porcellato.

Co-founder of the Italian Seniors Club and former honorary vice-consul for Guelph, Waterloo & Wellington County, Imelda dedicated over 40 years of community service to helping Italian seniors and women. She retired from the vice-consul position in 2010 after 22 years of service.

A year later, Imelda was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. After a 10-year battle, she passed away on Dec. 21, at the age of 81.

Remembered for having a warm personality and a bright smile, Imelda is regarded as a friend to all and a stranger to few. 

"She changed the way the immigrants were and opened up a field for them to see things, to travel, to enjoy,” said Imelda’s younger sister, Lucy Maggiotto about the impact of Imelda's work with the Italian Seniors Club.

“Imelda always used to always say, 'It's amazing what these people can give, what these people are capable of, the skills they have,’ It always surprised her that all of this had just been kept inside them, and she was the one who brought these people out, and I think that's why they loved her so."

Imelda was born in Loria, Italy in 1940 on a multi-household farm. During the early years of her childhood, Lucy described Imelda as a "quiet" child who had a good relationship with their grandmother.

“I think that’s where she became attached to seniors, she had a very good relationship with our grandmother over the years before we came to Canada,” said Lucy. “She always seemed to be able to talk to seniors and had patience for them.”

In 1950, Imelda, her mother and three sisters came to Guelph to reunite with their father. Once united, the family lived on Ferguson Street and the girls went to Sacred Heart School.

“She kind of blossomed in Grade 7 and Grade 8, she came out of her shell and recognized that she was good at things, like public speaking,” said Lucy about young Imelda.

Able to speak both Italian and English, Imelda became known as an excellent public speaker. Years later during volunteer events, Imelda’s eldest daughter, Lorna Porcellato, recalls her mother’s ability to address a crowd. 

"My mom would get up, give a speech in English with no notes, and then give the exact same speech in Italian, word for word," said Lorna, who mentions her mother helped her and others improve upon their public speaking skills.

As the second-eldest daughter, Imelda quit school at 16 to help support her family. Her first job was working at the CIBC bank in Downtown Guelph. It would later be one of her regrets in life to not being able to complete her high school education. 

“She knew she was called on to provide a service, and she did the best she could with that opportunity,” said Imelda’s younger daughter, Christina Murphy. “She then spent the rest of her life making sure others had the opportunity to do what she couldn't.”

After marrying Francesco Porcellato at the age of 20, Imelda would raise her two daughters and lead an active family life. Within the family, Imelda was an avid delegator and everyone was given a job to do during weekend visits, vacations and social events. Her ability to organize and manage tasks and people led her to develop the nickname "The General."

"Everything from organizing our family trips, to cleaning the house, to bigger tasks, she always was the leader," said Christina. "She was definitely the head of the family, even at difficult times when a family member might become ill, or pass away, or there was a milestone to celebrate, my mom was always involved and making a plan, and making sure everyone was okay with that plan."

Despite showing tough love sometimes, Imelda also saw potential in all her family members.

“My mom was very good at understanding people's abilities and optimizing them, she would give people opportunities and responsibilities because she had faith in them, and they would rise to the task,” said Lorna. "She was really canny in that way, she had a good sense of people."

Later on in her life, the action that spurred Imelda to get involved with Italian seniors came after successfully completing a course with Wilfrid Laurier University on aging. Her sister and sister-in-law, Valeria Porcellato, had encouraged Imelda to join her in the class.

"She felt something was missing, felt something was inferior because she didn't have an education, a school education," said Valeria, who Imelda had advocated on her behalf to attend university. 

"That gave her the self-confidence to move forward and go into the Italian-Canadian community and set up services, doing a lot more that centred around the Italian-Canadian community, especially Italian females, and then moving forward where she was then appointed to various responsibilities and was wonderfully successful." 

For her volunteer efforts, Imelda received multiple awards, including the Mayor’s Award, Women of Distinction Award and the order of merit of the Italian Republic. When she wasn’t planning events, Imelda could be found helping people file their tax returns, helping others obtain Italian citizenship, or inviting an international student over for dinner.

Family members said Imelda recognized her involvement wouldn’t have been possible without the support of her husband, Francesco.

"He took over a lot of the domestic responsibilities in the house, which enabled my mom to take over that role as the vice-counsel to really relish in that position, to give her the time and space that she needed," Lorna said about her father.

"I think he deserves a lot of mention for his support of her and was a big reason for her to express herself to the benefit of others as she had,” adds Valeria.

When Imelda was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Lorna and Christina both recall their mother’s reaction to the initial diagnosis with awe and admiration for her positivity. Their Nonna, Imelda's mother, had also been diagnosed with Alzhiemer's disease.

"Our Nonna was so loved, and even though she knew she was going down the same path, that it was going to be okay, because she really knew she was going to be loved as well," said Christina, "and she was so grateful for the life that she had, and was going to continue to have, and all she asked was to be loved as her mother was."

Looking back on Imelda’s life, the family expresses pride in the work Imelda dedicated to others and how she managed to help instill a sense of purpose in people in the later years of their life.

“The extent of what she could make things happen, always took my breath away,” said Christina about her mother. “For her, it really provided them with so much opportunity, Canada and Guelph as well, and I think she felt honoured to represent the Italian-Canadian community here, and connect them to their roots.”

"She lived a very good life that affected so many people and they brought her so much joy in return," added Valeria. "She's been a wonderful influence on all of us."