Honoured by their children – Christine, Michael & Marc Saini
Our parents: Anthony (Tony) & Claire Saini
Anthony Joseph was born September 24, 1940 in North Bay, ON, the second of seven children born to Michael and Amelia Saini.
Dad grew up in the East end of the city and attended St Joseph’s School and then Scollard Hall. He entered the Seminary after high school but soon realized that the call to the priesthood was not meant for him, he returned home to North Bay and began working in the Parks and Recreation department with the City of North Bay as a carpenter where he devoted 33 years of his life until his retirement in 2000.
Dad was quite the sportsman, playing hockey but his true love was football. Not only did he play for Scollard, but went on to play for the North Bay Ticats for many years. He won the Lou Valenti Trophy in 1968 & 1975 as the outstanding offensive lineman; in 1971, he won the Don Ryan Memorial Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player and was a unanimous selection as left guard on the NFC all-star team. He founded and co-chaired the Winter Fur Carnival Snowshoe Football Bowl in 1976. Even after he stopped playing, he remained involved in the game as a coach, team trainer, equipment manager and would paint the lines on the fields for all the home games. He was recognized with the Mike Mitchell / Larry Avery Memorial Award in 2006 for his contribution to football throughout the years.
It was during his football years that he met mom on a bus heading to Kirkland Lake. He was heading there to play football; she was with a friend going home to visit family. Dad asked her to come watch his game, and the rest was history.
Claire Laura was born September 3, 1947 in Haileybury, ON, the eldest of six children born to Jean-Claude and Beatrice Vannier. Mom first came to North Bay to attend St Joseph’s College for Grade 12 and 13. She then attended St Joseph’s Nursing School, graduating in 1968 with her RN, and then began working at St Joseph’s Hospital on the Pediatric ward where she became a valued co-worker and friend to many. Over the years, Claire’s interest and enthusiasm in her work encouraged and inspired her fellow-workers to always do better. She was one of the main forces in implementing primary nursing on the Pediatric unit and then continued as chairperson after its inception.
Tony and Claire married on May 17, 1969 at Holy Name of Jesus Church here in North Bay and settled down to raise their family. Christine was born in 1970, Michael in 1972 and Marc in 1976.
Family, Faith and Perseverance are the cornerstones that our lives were built on. They were extremely important to both mom and dad, which in turn, got passed down to us. We always did things as a family growing up: whether it was going to church, our annual camping trips to Mikisew, going on vacation, going to hockey tournaments, attending each other’s functions or just spending time together. Mom and Dad took active roles in participating in our lives and activities. Dad’s love of sports carried over to his sons. He became involved with their hockey teams by either coaching (in the early years) then later becoming their team’s hockey trainer … something which he continued even after both boys had moved on. Mom’s love of music and crafts got passed on to her daughter. Mom was a strong believer that if you started something, you had to finish it. Quitting was not an option.
Thank you mom and dad, for being such a big and important part of our lives; we love you very much.
Honoured by their children Christine, Michael (Becky) and Marc (Serena) and their grandchildren Patrick, Leah Claire, Nicola and Luca