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Anthony Dimech
May 16, 1926 - August 25, 2016
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<div itemprop="description">Anthony Publio Dimech <br> <br>It is with great sadness that Tony's family announces his passing Thursday August 25 in his 90th year. Tony was a wonderfully loving and caring husband, father, Nannu, Boos Nannu and friend. He will be greatly missed by Helen (Bartolo), his wife of 65 years, and his children Carmen (David Brown dearly departed), Doris (Paul Bates), Mary (Brian Randall), Rita (Mark Curtis), Grace (Mark Rogers), Manny (Leslie Wray), Anne and Jessie (Tony Iannetta), his grandchildren Emerson, Toni, Rachel (Jamie), Ashley (Joel) and Becky (Brown), Maria and Steve (Vargo), Bryan, Taylor (Julie) and Brittney (Dimech), Stephanie and Daniel (Rogers), Jacob and Justin (Gideon), and his great grandchild Cohen. Ernie Vargo, Karen Tooze and Mark Gideon share our sorrow. <br> <br>Tony lived a life of some adventure, and he loved sharing his tales and a good laugh. Born in Valletta, Malta, Tony was proud of his Maltese heritage. At the age of sixteen he was wounded by fascist bombs during the Siege of Malta, "the most sustained and concentrated aerial bombing in history." Thought dead by his family, there was much relief when Tony turned up in a hospital three days later. <br> <br>Following the war, Tony married Helen in 1951, who he "loved from the first time I saw her". <br> <br>In 1952 Helen and Tony began their family with the birth of Carmen, who was delivered at home. In 1960, seeking better fortune, Tony left an expectant Helen and five children in Malta to emmigrate to Canada. Arriving in Montreal, Tony had to represent himself with some flexibility. He landed himself a job as a camp cook, and after a three day train journey found himself in Jasper. Up to that point he hadn't even scrambled an egg for himself, never mind feeding dozens of hungry men three square a day. Fortunately for everyone, Tony was a quick study. <br> <br>Over the next four years Tony saw much of Alberta and B.C. as the work camps moved from one project to the next. All along he supported his family and saved for the day he could bring them to Canada. <br> <br>In 1964 he travelled East where he began bar tending at the Scarborough Golf and Country Club, a job well suited to his love of conversation and story telling. <br> <br>He bought a new house in the growing suburb of Bay Ridges. On May 20, 1964, he reunited with his family for the first time in four years and brought them to their barely completed new home. After five girls in a row, Tony doubted that Helen had delivered a son in his absence. Of course, Helen was true to her word and Tony delighted in meeting Manny, now aged three, for the first time. By the time Helen and Tony had their last child in 1970, there would be eight children in the house; Carmen, Doris, Mary, Rita, Grace, Manny, Anne and Jessie. <br> <br>Tony would tend bar at the club with humour and dedication for the next 27 years until his retirement in 1991. Even as time and diabetes conspired to challenge his health, Tony lived his days with characteristic good humour, always a good tale or gentle joke at the ready. He could turn any outing into an adventure. <br> <br>Tony won a number of Bartender's Certificates. In 1969 Tony won the Silver Shaker Award at the National Cocktail Competition with his creation the "Maltese Falcon", the one he was most proud of. <br> <br>1 oz Dark Rum <br>1/2 oz Apricot Brandy <br>1/2 oz Curacao Triple Sec <br>1/2 oz lemon juice bar mix <br> <br>You should try one. It's awesome as was Anthony. We miss him dearly already. <br></div>