Attilio Cantoni

Resident of Santa Cruz CA, Attilio Cantoni, 99, passed away Sunday, March 20, 2016 in St George Utah. Attilio was born September 14, 1916 in Swanton, California to Luigi and Teresa Cantoni who worked in the San Vicente Logging Camps. He moved to Italy in 1922 with his mother and younger sister Gina. They lived in his mother's idyllic home town of Ceppo Morrelli in northern Italy, under Mount Rose. He attended San Luigi Miasino Seminary and Varallo Sieso Scuola D'Adda where he learned design. He studied with painter Giovanni Botti, where he learned the fine art of painting frescoes in the local churches in the Piedmont area. During WWII he was stationed in a small town outside of Turin, where he met and married the love of his life, Anna. They eventually came to Santa Cruz to start their married life. He worked as a bartender and manager of Borradori's Bar and Liquor Store, formerly the Swiss American Hotel on Water Street. They resided upstairs until the building was torn down to widen the street in 1963. They purchased a lot on the west side of Santa Cruz where he built his home in his spare time. He began his painting business, Cantoni Painting. "Tillio" as he was known, loved hard work as much as he loved the people he worked for. Playing bocce, taking walks on the Westside, and his hunting excursions after the rains behind UCSC to find porcini mushrooms were among his many passions. An avid traveler, he made the long trip to Singapore to visit his grandson at age 95 and traveled to Italy with his daughter at age 97. He found great joy in sharing the harvest of his vegetable garden with friends, helping people with jobs around their house, playing cards and most of all his beloved grandchildren. He was an active member of the Marconi Club, Sons of Italy, Italian Catholic Federation and Holy Cross Church. A die-hard SF Giants and 49'ers fan, he still knew every stat of every player. Father, brother, Zio, and Nonno, he did them all well. He is now reunited with his wife Anna of 56 years. He is survived by his daughter, Margaret Liberatore of St George Ut and her husband Glenn, his 3 grandchildren, Lisa Ohrn, Michael Liberatore, Alex Liberatore, and 7 great grand-children, Mady, Hunter, Katie, Gunnar, Evan, Fiori, and Tyler. He is also survived by his sister Gina Magnoni of Virginia, nieces, Claudia Goldstein and Anna Magnoni, and numerous cousins in Italy. Everyone will miss this icon of a rock-star and his family is grateful for the knowledge that families are eternal. We love you Nonno! A Memorial Service honoring Attilio will be at Benito & Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel, 1050 Cayuga St. in Santa Cruz on Friday, April 29th, at 10:30 am. In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to Dominican Hospital.