LEVER, Maria Rosa 1924 – 2019

Lever, Maria Rosa, of Vulcan, passed away peacefully at the South Campus Health Centre in Calgary on June 27, 2019 at the age of 94 years.

Maria was born in Vigo Cavedine, Italy on December 20, 1924 to Adriano and Aliche Zambaldi. When Maria was a little girl, she was a shepherdess looking after the family sheep and cows with her mother. In her adolescent years, they were very poor and because there was no work in their village, Maria and her mother had to find work in Germany in the Sugar Beet fields.

On May 11, 1946, Maria married her childhood sweetheart Rodolfo “Rudy” Lever in Vigo. They continued to reside in Vigo Cavedine along with their first two children, Eda & Johnny, until they decided to emigrate to Canada. Rudy arrived first in 1952. He sent money and tickets to Italy so Maria and the children could join him. In 1953, Maria said goodbye to her family and friends and with her children, they set off from Northern Italy and set sail for Canada. They landed in Halifax and took a train bound for Alberta. After two years of being apart, the Lever family were once again reunited in Champion, Alberta. They lived here until 1955 when they moved to Vulcan for one year. They moved back to the Champion coal mines for seven years before permanently moving back to Vulcan in 1963.

Rudy and Maria added two more children, Fiorella and Nives, to complete their family. Rudy worked as Head of Hospital Maintenance and Maria eventually became Head of Laundry Service at the Vulcan Hospital. She worked there for 26 years before retiring in 1988. Maria and Rudy travelled back to Italy several times for visits and she also enjoyed traveling around Alberta, B.C., Disneyland and Las Vegas just to name a few.

Maria enjoyed many things including knitting, gardening, baking (especially bread!) and loved to keep a very clean house. Family always came first and she loved holidays like Easter, Christmas and the children’s birthdays. Maria was a great and giving Mother and always helped those who needed it. She will be greatly missed but fondly remembered.

Maria is survived by her three daughters Eda Lishman (Peter K. Smith), Fiorella (Allen) Cole, Nives Lever (Barry Harvey) , her son Sergio “John” (Nui Rueangwong) Lever, two grandchildren, Luknam and Nyi Wangkhiree, her brother Marino Zambaldi of Vigo Cavedine, Italy as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and her beloved husband Rodolfo “Rudy” in 1997 and her sister Daria Zambaldi in 2015.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Monday, July 8, 2019 at 1 pm at St. Andrews Church (330 – 1 St. South), Vulcan, AB, Fr. Philip Le Celebrant. Private Family Inurnment Vulcan Cemetery. A Social will follow the service at the Vulcan Seniors Centre (303 Centre Street).

Any tributes in Maria’s memory can be made to the Vulcan County Health & Wellness Foundation, Box 28, Vulcan, AB, T0L 2B0.

Arrangements in care of Vulcan Funeral Home. Telephone 1-403-485-2633. E-mail condolences through www.vulcanfuneralhome.ca.