We’re sad to share that Giulio Di Stefano passed away unexpectedly on April 13, 2026, at age 75. Born in Basciano, Italy on July 11, 1950, he moved to Canada with his parents Bernardo and Antonietta Di Stefano and younger brother Mario back in 1960. Later on, the family grew with the arrival of another son and brother, Oswaldo (Ozzie) Di Stefano. The family always held tight to their Italian roots and culture, keeping close connections with loved ones back in Italy even today.
From a young age Giulio showed his business smarts-starting off selling newspapers on street corners as a kid before working many years at Bombardier. He loved sports and had plenty of hunting and fishing stories that entertained his close pals (and anyone lucky enough to hear them). Giulio made his home in Lappe for nearly five decades. His happiest times were outdoors-whether tending his lovely gardens or just kicking back on his porch with his loyal dogs nearby. He had a real knack for growing heritage tomatoes and colorful flower beds he often shared with friends. Always the entrepreneur, he’d sell perennials each spring too. Giulio kept up with world news, geography, and politics and enjoyed lively debates about all kinds of topics. His life was truly enriched by good friends, family members, and pets who meant so much to him.
He is survived by brother Ozzie Di Stefano (Lyn), sister-in-law Cherie Di Stefano, nephew Justin Di Stefano as well as several relatives and close friends both here in Canada and over in Italy.
A Celebration of Life will be planned later-date to be announced soon. Following Giulio’s wishes, he will be laid to rest in Italy this fall of 2026. If you want to honor him without sending flowers, donations to the Thunder Bay and District Humane Society would really be appreciated.
We’ll miss spotting him heading into town with just the top of his head showing above the steering wheel sporting that famous fur hat almost all year round.
You can send your condolences through www. nwfainc. com
! function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s)
{if(f. fbq)return; n=f. fbq=function(){n. call Method?
n. call Method. apply(n, arguments): n. queue. push(arguments)};
if(! f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n. push=n; n. loaded=!0; n. version=’2.0′;
n. queue=[]; t=b. create Element(e); t. async=!0;
t. src=v; s=b. get Elements By Tag Name(e)[0];
s. parent Node. insert Before(t, s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect. facebook. net/en_US/fbevents. js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘1329423167624188’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘Page View’);
