Salvatore "Sal" Iacono: January 14, 1955-June 7, 2023
*Eulogy I wrote and delivered for my dad’s funeral on June 13 in Ottawa
Good morning, everyone. I’m Elena Iacono, Sal Iacono’s daughter, and on behalf of my mother Marisa and my brother Marco, thank you for being with us today.
Over the last few years, I’ve been writing and delivering the eulogies for my grandparents – most recently, my Nonna Pina..my dad’s mother. I’ve reflected on the immigrant story many times over – and today, we hear the outcome of that story. What potential looks like – what steadfast commitment to actualizing on the promise of tomorrow looks like.
Sal, his entire life, was an honourable, honest, fair, and faithful man. A curious boy of 2, he joined his parents as they set sail for Canada and my dad hit the ground running. Always excelling at everything he did, my dad loved to push his mind to the limit not because he wanted others to notice, because he wanted to stretch his capacity and time to full throttle.
Doing right by people was his motto, and his love of people and his faith carried him throughout his entire life. There are many Sal-isms floating out there – sayings and phrases he coined to give others hope, and, to give himself hope up until most recently at his darkest hours. Faith – positive – future. These three words he wrote on his hospital room board. These three words he kept repeating over and over… now forever etched in my mind.
My father was carried by values that define what it means to be a good man – he was loving, he was caring, he was true in his word and everything that he did. For others whom he worked with, the community he uplifted, and his dear family and friends.
Today we will pray for our dad, Sal. The last few months were so difficult – and watching him be denied and robbed of so much, so quickly, was too painful to watch.
And yet, his firm belief in working things through carried him forward.
My mother told me that every day, they would pray together as it comforted my dad. And I’m glad he found peace in these reflective, quiet moments during the day.
Throughout our entire lives, my brother and I have looked up to our dad – as our pillar of hope and strength in our family, our dad gave us a unique and lasting benchmark for what it truly means to be an honourable, responsible, and sincere person. We try our hardest every day to live up to the principles he instilled in us and we do hope we’ve made him proud – and hope we’ll be able to keep doing so into the future.
Today is a tremendously sad day for all. Most especially for our mother. Like I wrote in his obituary, our mother stood firm with her marital vows right to the end. In sickness and in health. I’m so proud of her for standing next to her husband and sharing the unbreakable bond they had. Just the very mention or thought of my parents and I see their bright smiles and hear their positive encouragement. While my parents are now physically separated, there is hope knowing that our dad, our dear Sal, is at peace. We will miss him hard but I know we’ll be carried by memories that speak to his legacy of who he was, always.
It’s really hard to summarize Sal Iacono in just 3 minutes – but yet it doesn’t take long for moving moments to pop up in our minds when we think of him. I know each of you hold something special close to your heart – I know with full certitude he touched you in a lasting way - and I hope you cherish the memory of Sal for years to come.
My dad is physically gone – I don’t think I’ll ever be able to actually come to terms with this. No one does. Grief doesn’t go away but it does make you learn how to love harder, live harder, try harder, learn harder, help harder.
And the harder I push, the more I’ll keep my dad’s spirit alive and with that, my grief feels a little easier to manage through.
We love you dad – now, always. Thanks for being the backdrop to our lives, and the blueprint for our future.
The pinnacle of what we need to keep striving for, every day.
Excellence, humility, family honour, respect, consideration, and love.
