Franco slipped away from us peacefully Tuesday at Holyrood Manor in Maple Ridge, two years and eight months after the sudden and tragic loss of his beloved wife Carolina.
He will be sorely missed and always cherished by daughters Elisabeth and Christina, sons-in-law Philippe Josset and Stephen Wicary, granddaughter Julia Josset, and grandsons Luka and Nolan Polzot-Wicary; by his brother Luigino Polzot, his wife Nadia and their children; by his late brother Mansueto, his late wife Valeria and their sons; and by his cousin and dear friend Aulo Bearzi, his wife Marisa and their daughters.
His loss will be equally felt by extended family and friends in Windsor, Ontario, in Italy, and in the Tri-Cities of British Columbia, which he and Carol had called home since moving to Port Moody in 2006.
Born to Maria Roia and Aldo Polzot in the town of Avausa, north of Udine in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy, Franco grew up in the splendour of the Alps. He loved the outdoors and was happiest in the woods of Val Pesarina, hiking and foraging for mushrooms or wild asparagus. He became a tile setter, contributing to significant construction projects including helping build a large hospital in Milan. Some of his fondest memories of his youth were from this period, and from his training and service in the Italian army.
In the mid-1960s, he and Mansueto travelled to Windsor, Canada in search of adventure and employment. It was there Franco met Carol, who had come separately with her family from the Lazio region south of Rome. They married in May 1974. Liz was born later that year, followed by Christina in 1978. The family moved back to Italy in 1980, and returned to Windsor in 1991. During those years, Franco was always up for a game of briscola or a ballroom dance with his beloved Carol. He often impressed the crowd while dancing the twist. He was also an avid soccer fan, closely following AC Milan and spending Sunday afternoons at the Societa U.S. Ancora soccer pitch in Pesaris.
Franco loved a good meal – especially Carol’s home-cooked ones – accompanied by a good glass of wine, and often followed by a digestif. He was fiercely devoted to his family, working hard from a humble upbringing to seek a better life and future for his daughters and in turn their children. Julia, Luka and Nolan will always have fond memories of their nonno.
His family extends their deep thanks to friends and neighbours in the Tri-Cities, and to members of the Cliffhuggers hiking group, for their unwavering support in the past months — in particular for celebrating Franco’s 78th birthday with him at Holyrood a week before his passing. A small service will be held in his honour in the coming days.
Donations in Franco’s name can be made to the Port Moody Ecological Society or the Burke Mountain Naturalists
