Eulogies

Resting Place for Santo Costanzo

Santo wanted to be buried in a crypt and to be opposite the graves of his Mother (Marietta), Father (Frank) and Sister(Angela). He was laid to rest at Fawkner Memorial Park. The location of the entombed remains of the late Santo Costanzo who passed away on Thursday, September 10, 2009, aged 50 are located at the: Holy Angels Mausoleum Gabriel Level A Crypt No 3254. (Download Map Here) Resting Place for Santo Costanzo's family The location of the buried remains of the late Angela Costanzo aged 10 (passed away on 9/12/1967), Frank Costanzo aged 59 (passed away on 3/09/1985) and Marietta Costanzo aged 67 (passed away on11/07/1996) are located at the: Roman Catholic Compartment U Grave 9049. (Download Map Here)

John Fotias

To my Dear Friend SantoWords cannot describe my sadness and sorrow that I feel today. You were a brother tome in every sense.You were my teacher at St. John's College since 1982 and a valued friend since 1990.You were a true gentleman and a real friend.You were the soul and spirit of the College and the entire St. John's community. Yourdedication, passion and commitment was evident to all those that had the pleasure ofworking with you and those that knew you. You touched many hearts, influenced manypeople, including colleagues, students and parents.Always diplomatic yet witty, funny and respectful. You were the master of sayings andthe kindest most intelligent person that I have known.You always remembered and respected your Mother, Father and Sister, whounfortunately passed away. Yet you always portrayed their memories and kept themalive. From the trees in your garden that your father planted 35 years ago, to theornaments your mother placed in your home to the pictures your sister Angela drew -Their memories were alive and part of you.I had heard all the stories about them and all the links they had with your relatives that Iused to say to you "Santo you have told me this one before" however you continued withthe stories time and time again. We had many laughs afterwards.Your house was always full of memories of your family that you wanted and needed tobe with. - Now you are with them.I had the pleasure of being introduced to all you relatives whether they were living hereor overseas. You always reiterated the link to your family. You called for their Birthdays,you attended their funerals and you always respected them.Students that attended St John's College respected and trusted you. You were theirteacher and their father. Students fondly referred to you as Mr C and often attempted toshow their appreciation by providing you with many "Cherrie Ripes" your favouritechocolate bar – it was gesture to remember your Father who worked in the factory manyyears ago.You used to comfort and reassure students in their time of need, by providing them ashoulder to cry on while showing them respect in the process. I remember when studentssaid to you that they had no idea what career path to choose and you always said "That'sok, that is perfectly normal let's look at the options". You always made them feelcomfortable and valued.You were always very thorough as a teacher and you would always give students a fairhearing. You provided confidence in students and were a confidant and a mentor formany teachers. I feel truly blessed to have known you not only as a caring teacher andsupportive work colleague but also as a trusted, reliable and loyal friend.During this past week I have had countless calls from former students dating back to1982 from all over the world and all walks of life. You were their mentor and they willnever forget their memories of you. Your dedication to St. John's College was second tonone – You were St. John's!Even strangers that were nothing to you, you listened to their problems. You were "Thesalt of the earth" .You had a heart of gold and you goal in life was to always make peoplefeel better regardless of how you felt. You used to say to my daughter "to err is to behuman but to forgive is divine" – That summed up to a "T" Santo.You would give your heart and soul to help people from all walks of life from thecleaners to teachers to students to relatives to unknown people. You held no hatred inyour heart and I do not know any person that was loved and respected as much as youwere.We have been through some difficult times together and we got through them all as one.Unfortunately all these years of suffering took their toll on your sensitive nature and as aresult I cannot be there with you physically any more.The trip to the United States last year was a highlight of your life. You were the happiestwhen you were around your relatives and especially your brother Peter Calliguri andSantino Costanzo. I will cherish that time I spent with you forever.I would ask you to whip two or three lines for a particular occasion. You wrote an essay -wordy but very beautiful and colourful – just like your life.I used to say to you to stop calling me Johnny because I have grown up now but yourreply was "You will always be Johnny to me".You enjoyed going with Angela and Nick to watch your much loved magpies and wouldbe full of enthusiasm when they won and you would comment that "we are on a roll, wehave won one match in a row" or when they lost you would say –"the way Collingwoodplayed today even if Moses and the 12 Apostles came down to play we would still havelost"You are now in peace my dear friend; in a place were you are reunited with your Father,Mother and Sister. In my heart I know that you are now happy.Santo, I will miss you dearly. I will cherish your memories forever. A part of me also leftwhen you left.I promise you that I will continue to keep those memories alive for you.Rest in Peace my Brother.As you always used to say "Till we meet again".Johnny

Toni Giogha

Santo Costanzo was born in Melbourne on 4"' February I959. He was the second child of Francesco and Marietta Costanzo, Italian immigrants, who had come to Australia to ﬁnd a better life. They worked hard to care for their home and children and like most Italians of that time, they pursued the traditions of their homeland. The old quarter acre block provided them with the space for a large vegi garden, chickens, rabbits and the kitchen at the back of the garage was used to make great vino, pork sausages and tomato sauce. There were many great get-gethers with their extended families and friends in the back yard under the veranda. In December 1967 sadness struck the Costanzo family when Santo's sister, Angela who had been diagnosed with Leukemia many years earlier died, she had just turned ll years of age. Her death devastated the family, Francesco and Marietta could not have done more for their daughter. As an 8 year old this certainly would be an overwhelming situation and it would have been difficult for him to understand what was happening arotmd him. Despite the heartache Francesco and Marietta endured they did the very best they could to raise Santo up to be a strong, kind, humble, respectful and caring man. All of us here know that Francesco and Marietta did in fact, succeed, Santo was all of this and much, much more. Santo attended Merrilands Primary School, then Merrilands Seconday Schooi where he achieved amazing results that earned him a place at Monash University to study law. What a proud moment for his parents when he graduated, I have never witnessed parents as proud as Santo's. A huge photo of his graduation was prominently placed in the family's lounge room. At 18, he purchased the almighty Falcon and scored his ﬁrst job as a waiter. After work he would hit the town (yes, Santo did that) with his waiter mates (mostly cousins-you know who you are). He recalled these times with such affection and mischievousness. Santo's teaching career commenced at St .lohn's College in Preston. He loved his job and his students loved and respected him. Going through some of his things at his home I found so many letters and thank you cards from his students and words such as "wonderful" "fantastic" "caring" "the greatest teacher" "special" were the constant theme of all of these cards and letters. I thought to myself "wow", I would never would have thought to send a teacher of mine a thank you note, I guess I was just not lucky enough to have a wonderful teacher like Santo. Santo remained at St John's for 25 years he changed so many lives and paved the way of so many success stories. In spite of his many successes his life at home was a difﬁcult one. His mother was never able to come to terms with the fact that her daughter was gone. Marietta's health deteriorated quickly, she was ﬁrstly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and then followed many other serious health issues, although no one would ever know the pain she was in because she would never admit that she was ill. Then his father's health became a concern, he developed a serious liver disease to which he succumbed to in September I985. After his father's death Santo and his mother became so close, that apart from going to work, all of his time would be spent with her. He accompanied her to every doctor appointment every hospital visit, a son could not do more for a mother than what Santo did for her. Unfortunately all the caring and support he lavished upon her could no longer protect her, and in July 1996 she passed away in his loving arms. Santo was not able to cope with the fact that he was the only surviving member of his family, this weighed heavily on him. Santo was such a proud and private man not allowing his own pain to be seen by others, only a few family members and some very special friends knew of his pain. To those special friends, Johrmy, Angela & Nick the Costanzo and Chiodo families want to thank you immensely for looking after our Santo you were always a source of support for him and we know how much you meant to him, thank you. On a personal note, Santo l want to thank you so much for helping our family, you are certainly the brother that Mary and I never had. Thank you for looking after our father, your Zio Peppe, when he was in need you were always there, even though dad could understand the doctors, and you knew that he could, he wanted you there to translate for him. Dad always felt reassured when you were around, and he also knew that you were the only one that would listen to his stories over and over again always laughing as if it was the first time you had heard the story. Santo you did all of this, not for any gain, not for any reward you did these things for one reason only, because we are family. Santo was my son Marc's godfather a role he relished, when he was little you would take himthe football, never missed a birthday and when he was older you would both spend hours on the phone discussing the latest ground breaking issues, like who had Collingwood picked up in the draft, or how good are Collingwood we are sorely going to win the premiership this year, even though this was only after round one, and then at the end of each there was the familiar sound of "oh well, may be next year". Santo our family will miss you dearly. Santo is now in heaven where he wanted to be with his dear parents and sister. This is not the time for us to grieve his death but it's our time to celebrate his life. Don't ever forget Santo. He would never want to see people cry, he wanted to make everyone happy.So at this moment when we are about to lay Santo to rest, let's all think back and remember how Santo touched our lives. How he made us laugh and how good Santo was as a person. This is not the moment for us to shed our tears but we should all be thankful that we were given the chance to have known a wonderful man named Santo.Rest in Peace Santo, we will never forget you!