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.