Even though my family is heartbroken by my passing, they respected my choice to go on my own terms. They thought it would be August 17, but I decided to leave on August 16 instead.
I was born James Ralph Mauro on December 17, 1960, at St. Joe’s Hospital to James and Doreen Mauro (Siciliano) of Crown St. in Thunder Bay. My older siblings Richard, Jamie Ann, and Bill welcomed me home.
Our home was small but filled with love. I moved when I was just five, but I still have some memories from that time, like helping Bill and Rick with their newspaper route. The family later moved to Churchill Dr. in Fort William and opened a corner store together. Dad worked in insurance until 1970 while Mom ran the store, cooked for six people, and hosted many friends and family members. She worked long hours every day of the week with a smile on her face.
It was a lively time full of family; we were all so proud when my sister Jamie became the first Miss Teen Thunder Bay after the cities merged. We learned about hard work, dedication, and helping those in need-lessons that have stayed with us throughout our lives. Those early experiences shaped me as I tried to share them with my own family.
I spent a lot of my early years with my cousin Bruce, who has always felt like a brother to me: golfing, camping, swimming-those days were priceless during my teen years. At 16, I also met Joe Zukiel in Burlington; he’s another cousin who became like a brother right away. We’ve been part of each other’s wedding parties and his family has become an essential part of mine over the years as we traveled together with his wife Laurie-a true blessing indeed. My close cousins have formed bonds akin to sibling relationships; Todd Siciliano and Kim Mauro are more than cousins-they’ve been there for me through thick and thin during my illness.
I started working at Dominion Grocery Store in Northwood Mall when I was 16-a moment that truly changed everything for me. That’s where I met Shawn Harris; he’s been one of my closest friends for over 50 years now! You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who could say something bad about him; he’s one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.
One night while working late, I went upstairs to speak with the Assistant Manager and noticed a young woman applying for a job-she changed everything for me! I told my manager he had to hire her, and from then on nothing was ever quite the same again. That young lady is Anne Giguere; she has held us together for 44 wonderful years.
She forgave me for choosing the wrong tuxedo for our wedding day-and together we raised two incredible boys: Brad and Richard who make me proud every single day as they thrive in their careers.
Anne & I began our journey in a small house on Harold St., where we welcomed Brad into our lives before moving all the way to College Park just six months later. About two-and-a-half years after that Richard arrived completing our little family.
I have so many great memories growing up in College Park surrounded by friends and family-including having Mom and Dad move down the street which was such a gift during their final years. It felt like we created our own little version of East End since several other relatives lived nearby too.
In 1989, three years into my career journey, Angelo became my partner at work-we could tell endless stories filled with laughter over those years! He’s been one of my closest friends since then-another brother-like figure among those mentioned earlier-who made everything more bearable even when things got tough.
The joy continued growing when our grandson Carter came along! I’ve been so lucky to spend nearly five amazing years with Carter-saurus-I wrote Christmas books just for him so he’d have stories he can read throughout his life-five books total (one already while another will come soon & three more are ready).
I’m survived by my wife Anne; sons Brad (Hallie) & Richard (Bruno); grandson Carter; siblings Richard (Mary Ann Morancy), Jamie Ann (Erik Kalaidzas), Bill (Nancy Hamilton); in-laws Rhea Giguere, Bob Giguere, and Jo-Ann Brown; nies Tara Ann Loewen(Nathan), Michele Kryger(Brandon); nephews Dustin(Jolanta), Christian(Chase), Chris Giguere ;3 great-nephews&4 great-nieces.
Please join us for celebrating life this coming Monday , August24th at Da Vinci Centre between11:00 am -3:00 pm. My request is you wear something festive like Christmas sweaters, Vikings jerseys , Blackhawks jerseys , Jays jerseys or anything Star Trek themed!
A huge thank you goes out from me towards nurses & doctors associated w/ ER units2A ,2C ,1A @TBRHSC along w/awesome paramedics Damien & Jones!
If you’d prefer not sending flowers please consider making donations instead towards Autism Northwest, the George Jeffery Children Centre, rowantree or charity dearer your heart.~Just A Thought.
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