Obituary for Enrico “Rick” Alicandri
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Enrico Alicandri. Rick left us peacefully on May 7th, 2019 at the age of 69 while residing at the Kensington Hospice in Toronto. Rick is now reunited with his loving parents Angelo and Velia and will be profoundly missed by his loving daughter Elaina, sisters Pina (Alfredo) and Mary (Sam deceased), and brother Gino (Denise). He was a proud uncle to Gigliola, Sara, Monica, Anthony, Thomas, Steven, and Robert; best buddy to his cousin Ron, devoted godfather to Ethan, second dad to Tracy, and cherished friend to so many.
Born in the coastal Italian town of Terracina in 1950, Rick came in 1952 with his mother and older sister to join their father in Canada. He had a creative and rebellious spirit from the start; leading a pack of boys in the west-end streets of Little Italy as “Hawk-eye”, hustling the unsuspecting in Junction area pool-halls, and polishing muscle cars in the garages he dreamed to later work in. Dragged by his ears into his first job at Loblaw Supermarkets, Rick’s career path took a very different direction. Leaving school, he worked himself up through the company ranks from stock-boy to senior advertising executive and everything in between. This lifetime of work channeled some of his greatest gifts and proudest achievements. For over 4 decades, Rick developed nationwide marketing strategies, managed and opened Loblaw stores across the province, and trained countless teams. Bringing this keen talent to the community, Rick played an integral role in the campaign to finally overturn century old prohibition laws in the Junction. Not at all impressed with retirement, he began a second career as a painter in his Parkdale apartment building and go-to guy for the small village of neighbours who lived there.
In life and in love, Rick was a deeply artistic and idealistic man – always seeking to create in the world all he envisioned in his imagination. This desire led him to many rich and lasting relationships; and fueled every passion from classic cars to fine arts. He was an accomplished visual artist and builder; creating works in oils, watercolours, and pastels; designing and constructing whimsical sets for retail Christmas windows all over Ontario; and perhaps in his most favourite times, rolling up his sleeves to work side-by-side with family and friends to build anything from decks to gazebos. Rick touched lives through his generosity to devote time and energy to any endeavor, the quick “one-liners” that could transform any moment into laughter, and his love of sharing stories of all the things that touched his own life with anyone he thought might need to hear them.
Donations in his memory to Princess Margaret Hospital or Kensington Hospice would be appreciated by the family. A celebration of Rick’s life will be held on Monday, May 13th at the Marshall Funeral Home at 10366 Yonge Street in Richmond Hill, with visitation from 10:30am until the time of service at 12:30pm. Reception to follow. There will also be a friendship gathering in his memory at his home on Wednesday, May 15th between 7-9pm.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Enrico Rick Alicandri Tuesday May 7th 2019..
Death notice for the town of: Richmond-Hill, Province: Ontario