Uncle Tony Cardona

Now, here's a handsome fella. This would be my Great Uncle Tony in his military uniform during World War II. During a recent visit with Uncle Tony and Aunt Janet, I was able to gather some more photos of family for my collection.



Uncle Tony is what I would refer to as "the last of the full-bloods". Even though he wasn't full-blooded Sicilian like his father Thomas was, Uncle Tony and his brothers (including my grandfather) always reminded me of the Sicilians you would see in "The Godfather" movies.

Now, from what I have been told, they were a step down from their father who often thought of himself as "The Godfather", with the 3 piece suits and the Fedora's, but they still exuded the old Sicilian way in their mannerisms and how they looked at and lived life, right down to everyone having Pasta with every dinner and a goal of owning a Cadillac (I lost track of how many Cadillac's my grandfather owned in his lifetime). They were proud people who held family close, but always managed to have their disagreements anyway, but through it all, they loved the lives they had and loved their family gatherings immensely.

I remember in my younger days (around age 16) when I was going through alot of stuff in my life and generally being a pain in the ass towards everyone and everything that came my way, I moved out of my moms house and in with my grandparents for a while. One day, I talked to Aunt Janet and Uncle Tony who lived up near Chico, California in a little town named Oroville and they had heard about the problems I was having and wanted me to come live with them for a while. Now, me being the stubborn shit I was, I politely tuned them down, but that memory stuck with me because of their kindness and I have never forgotten that. I kept thinking to myself that if I could be half the man that my grand-father or his brothers were, I would be in good shape. Now, whether or not I have achieved that goal remains to be seen, but I still try with each and every day.

My relationship with Uncle Tony and Aunt Janet has grown over the last 7 or 8 years since about the time I found out I was going to be a father. I remembered the family gatherings and how I knew everybody in the family (and it was a large family at that) and I wanted to make sure my daughter would know the same things I did when I was growing up. To me, that was important. Over the years, I have loved talking to the both of them and since we moved to Sacramento that gave us a better excuse to go and visit with them, so we packed up one day and went on up to Oroville. I was surprised when I saw them again. Not much had changed in their appearance. Aunt Janet was the same bubbly person she always was and hadn't aged a bit from my childhood and Uncle Tony was the same guy he always was with the exception of the now white hair and a little less meat around his belly. But, they were the same as they always were to me. What made me laugh (and still does to this day) was my daughters interaction with Uncle Tony.



At first, Cierra was on unfamilliar ground and was a little apprehensive with the new people and surroundings, but while talking with Aunt Janet, I glanced over at Uncle Tony who had the biggest grin on his face and was playing "peek-a-boo" with Cierra around Aunt Janet. Cierra, for her part, was doing the same from behind her mom. Needless to say, we had a good visit over some of Aunt Janet's homemade soup and salad, and then in typical "Aunt Janet fashion", she declared that she had had enough of us and didn't want to see us again for another year all the while, a big smile spreading across her face.

Uncle Tony hasn't been well for a while now; heart problems which tends to happen when you're raised on a steady diet of Italian food, but he was holding his own. Last night, I got the call I was expecting for a while now, but it wasn't the story I had expected to hear. Recently, Uncle Tony and Aunt Janet went out for a drive and got in a car accident that left Aunt Janet with broken ribs and Uncle Tony slightly injured. They were taken to the hospital and Aunt Janet is on the mend. On Sunday, Uncle Tony had a stroke and passed away.

I am still in shock because I guess even though I know that no one lives forever, I just don't expect things to happen that suddenly. It seems like just yesterday that we were visiting with them and I was watching Cierra and Uncle Tony play peek-a-boo.

The "Last of the Full-Bloods" has gone home.



From left to right (Uncle Fred, Great Grandpa Thomas, Uncle Tony, Great Grandma Angelina, Uncle Charlie, and my grandfather Thomas. The Cardona's)

In memory of Anthony Edward Cardona (July 10, 1925-April 22, 2007)

You will be missed Uncle Tony.