Obituary of Giampaolo Brugnaro

Giampaolo brugnaro It is in the shelter of each other that we live. St. Therese, the little flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore and tell him I will love him each day more and more. "We have loved them during life; let us not abandon them until we have conducted them by our prayers into the house of The Lord St Ambrose You left too soon, We just started healing You were a tower of strength I could never reach Always protecting me Always letting me go Your heart broke when I fell But you taught me how to land And how to find my feet again. My strength comes from you My fight, my courage My stubbornness My humor My heart My father was a worldly, self-made man who loved to share stories about his experiences with others. He was born in in the middle of the last world war in Venice, Italy on April 13, 1940. He grew up with his parents, his brother Gino and his sister, Loredana in a tiny apartment in Venice, Italy. For us, born after the war and for me born far from Italy it is impossible to understand this era. My father was taken out of school by the age of 12 to work for a baker, delivering bread thru the streets of Venice. I think he had mixed feelings of pride and anger about Venice, a place of grueling work and harsh memories and yet a city so beautiful and loved by everyone. He left when he was 18 to work in Switzerland, San Moritz if I recall, as a gardener, sending his wages home, living in a bunk quarters with other staff, working his way into a wine waiter post. From there he went to Germany to work, also as a waiter in a Black Forest resort. After 4 years he went to London, also as a waiter at the Crazy elephant on Jermyn St, London, a hang out for the Beatles and Marlon Brando put in a regular appearance. In 1967/8 he came across an opportunity to train as a dealer for a new casino on Paradise Island, Bahamas. That's where he married, Ann oLeary and his daughter, Loli was born. 20 years later he retired and moved to the US, his dream, working in Mississippi for 10 years. We all found it funny that a Venetian would work in the back waters of the Deep South. Of course the waters we speak of were floating giant casinos on barges! He retired a second time in the early 1990's but like a rolling stone couldn't settle at home base in Florida but spent another 6 or 7 years in Kenya, a place he grew to deeply love. He finally returned to his beloved condo on Miami beach around 2010. As you can see, my father was demanding of himself and others and was always striving for a better life. There are many stories of life with dad. When he wasn't working he was exercising, playing tennis or jogging. I remember being his ball girl during friendly matches on paradise island. My childhood memories are of long walks on the beach where I always tired before he did; holding his hand while climbing the sea rocks in search of fish and tiny pretty crabs. One of my earliest memories is being woken up at 3 am by the smells of his cooking and joining him for an early morning meal. He was a fantastic cook. And of course, going to work with him. He would set me by the pool side and bring me lunch from the casinos dealer room. When I was older he brought me at night to wander around the casino, hotels and discotheque to people watch. I was always safe and well behaved as he had every dealer, cigerette girl, bar tender watching me! And he loved to dance, so by my mid teens he'd take me dancing at the popular clubs, which made me kind of cool at school. enjoyed long lasting friendships with many he worked with in the Bahamas and around the world. In these past few years I'm grateful we had a chance to visit and travel. We went to Washington DC and last September we travelled to Venice where we visited all the poignant places of his childhood. He leaves behind his daughter, Loredana brugnaro, his sister Loredana Zannon, his sister in law Theresa, his nieces Christina, Laura, Guiliano, Giuliana and their children, alessia, Marco and Lucia and many other loved ones, friends, and co-workers who were very important to him May God grant him final peace after a life of hard work and difficulty.