Louis (Luigi) Scodeller was born
in S. Vito Al Tagliamento, in the Udine Province. He was the
eldest of five children, Louis, Norma, Dario, Anna and Silvano.
Louis’s mother, Giuseppina, died at the young age of 48,
and his father died at the age of 79 in his home town in Italy.
His
brothers, Dario and Silvano, are also deceased.
Louis was taken as a prisoner of war and incarcerated in a German
labour camp in the Town of Follinboster, during the Second World
War. While in the labour camp he was made to work at any job
that the Germans ordered. Louis was allowed to work on repairing
motor bikes and bicycles for the townspeople because of his
mechanical expertise.
After the war, Louis married Giovanna Del Mei, in 1946 and had
two children, Orfeo and Maria Chiara. He was skilled at sculpting,
architectural design, bricklaying and construction. Louis suffered
extremely
hard times after the war, and he could not make a decent life
for himself and his family. In 1949, he left his family in
Italy and immigrated to Canada. Louis spoke no English and knew
only one person, his uncle, Giovanni Boscariol, who helped him
get his first job in construction. By day Louis worked hard and
at night he started building his home, on property he
had purchased. Shortly thereafter, his wife and the two children
arrived in Canada. He met them in Halifax and they travelled
back to Windsor where they lived in the one-room house he had
built for
them. In 1952, Louis bought a wheelbarrow and a truck and started
his own construction company. Later that year, another daughter,
Julie, was born.
Louis Scodeller and his partner, Mario Fantin, built Scofan
Contactors from its initial conception in 1952 into a successful
construction company that operated for a period of over thirty
years. This company specialized in heavy construction, schools,
bridges, pumping stations, sewers, water mains, heavy concrete
and machine work. His accomplishments can be seen throughout
Southwestern Ontario, as well as Northern Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba
and Nova Scotia.
Louis was involved in the Windsor Construction Association and
Heavy Construction Association and served as President for both
Associations for a period of time. Louis also served as President
of Italian Business and Professional Association. He also served
on several other committees, such as Hotel Dieu
Hospital and Fogolar Furlan Club. Louis was one of the founding
members of the Fogolar Furlan Club.
He always said that, if there was a mountain in his way, he
would go for it, under it or around it, thus earning the nickname, “Testa
Dura”. After Scofan
Contractors was liquidated in 1984, he continued on privately
as project manager for construction projects such as Pointe West
Golf Club, Electrozad, The Black Historical Church, Dean Construction
Building and the golf course on Boblo Island.
He was dealt a severe blow when his wife, Giovanna, was diagnosed
with an incurable disease. Giovanna passed away in December
of 2000. He also lost his daughter, Mary, to cancer in 1996,
at the age of 47. Louis suffered a severe stroke in 1999, at
the
age of 78. He is currently residing in Oak Park Retirement
Home and still passes his time doing architectural design.
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