Aldo Egidio Lista
January 9th 1930—April 15th 2021
Aldo Lista died peacefully in his beloved Mississauga, in the care of the dutiful staff of Trillium Hospital. He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-six years Noreen Lista (nee Sannuto), and his family: Frank, Claudina, Joncarlo and Eugenia, Ann, Rob, Carolyn and Jeffrey, Michael, Elizabeth, Brandon, Arianna, Alex, Samantha, Logan, Nathaniel, Isabella, Madeleine, Nicole, Sterling, Francesco and Eugenia. He is predeceased by his brother Marcello, his sister Claudina, and his sister-in-law Pina.
He was born in Montalto Uffugo, a mountain town in Calabria, Italy, to his mother Eugenia and his father Francesco. In 1948, he entered the Italian Airforce as an aerial photographer. Flying a sortie in 1953, his crew experienced a mechanical failure and performed a belly-down landing, after which he was furloughed to his home town. The crash landing turned out to be the happiest accident of his life, because while recuperating there, he met the young woman, on vacation with her family, who would become the love of his life, Noreen. Hastily assembling a band, he serenaded her from the street. He emigrated to Canada the following year, and they were married in 1955, and started their family. While he was still learning English, he went to work as a photographer at New Paramount Studios, and by 1959 had bought the business and the building at 366 Yonge Street, making him the youngest business owner on the longest street in the world.
In 1965, Aldo and Noreen moved to their beloved home on Ben Machree Drive, in Port Credit, Mississauga, a community that they spent the rest of their lives both serving, and shaping. The house overlooking Lake Ontario—which reminded him of the Mediterranean—would become a beacon for family and friends, famous for its Sunday dinners, its Christmas parties, furnished with Noreen’s legendary home cooking, and Aldo’s enthusiastic but inexpert forays into home-made wine. It was, and remains, a home filled always with laughter and stories. When he discovered that some local kids were playing soccer, and after watching them fumble around, he decided to coach them. The team he assembled in 1972 went on to win the regional, provincial, Eastern Canada, and Canadian National championships. One of his players, Enzo Concina, became a coach for the Serie A S.C.C. Napoli, saying of Aldo: “He was a coach hundreds of years ahead.”
New Paramount Studios moved from Yonge Street to St. Clair Avenue in Toronto, where working with the External Affairs Department, he pioneered the introduction of the first colour passport photos in Canada. He was in the memory business, spending his Saturdays photographing innumerable weddings, shooting portraits in his cool dark brick studio, and adding colour, by hand, to the black and white photographs of his cherished customers. Standing behind the counter, in a smart suit, his favourite phrase was: “What can I do for you?” He was an invigilator of his community’s memories, the enemy of amnesia.
At the age of 62, Aldo retired from photography. But retirement wasn’t for him; after puttering around for a few years, he and Noreen remortgaged their home to establish The Old Credit Brewing Company in October of 1994. It quickly turned into one of the most beloved microbreweries in Canada, winning dozens of awards, all the while staffed by much of the Lista family, including of course Aldo, who happily went into work all but three days a year—Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. Old Credit became a pillar of the Mississauga community, and remains a living testament to his and Noreen’s ambition, diligence, and perseverance. Mayor Bonnie Crombie of Mississauga said: “Aldo embodied the entrepreneurial spirit, building the Old Credit Brewing Company into a true Mississauga landmark that is now known for producing some of the highest quality beer you can find anywhere. But he was more than just a small business owner - he was a community builder, deeply passionate about Port Credit and Mississauga's Italian community. We will miss Aldo greatly, but we know his legacy will live on for years in our city.” Even now, to his family it feels like he isn’t gone—he’s just late, still at the brewery, on his way home.
Every Christmas, he asked for only one gift: a Ferrari. He settled for a red Fiero. He loved to fish, loved tennis, loved his football club, Juventus, loved Florida, loved Italy, and driving through the Calabrian mountains in his baby blue 1954 Alfa-Romero Giulia down to the sea. He rebelled at limit, ready to brook any challenge. He loved the sound of his beloved Noreen stirring espresso on her way up the stairs in the morning. He was a patient and diligent mentor to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, keen to pass the fire of his spirit on to them. What survives of him is love.
Due to COVID restrictions, both visitations and the funeral mass will be limited to immediate family. Donations can be sent to Trillium Health Partners Foundation in memory of Aldo Lista.