Carmen Nordio was born in Ussel Correz, France, on a snowy January day in 1932. She was the baby of the family; Yvonne was the eldest and the middle child was Elsa.
Carmen was affectionately known as Bisetti, by her family.
The family moved to Venice, Italy and resided on the Island of Giudecca. This is where she met and married her sweetheart Giuseppe Nordio, affectionately known as Bepi.
Opportunities for employment in Venice were slim so Bepi and his brother in law, Mario, took the boat to Canada. A year later, Carmen and Yvonne joined them.
Carmen and Bepi immigrated to Toronto and Carmen gave birth to Nadia, their only child, in 1961.
Carmen baby sat a little girl named Janet, who lived down the street.
Janet and Nadia became best friends. Janet considered Carmen to be her second Mom.
She was a devoted wife, mother, sister and friend
She would listen with empathy, on the phone, for hours to her friends situations and offer her perspectives. She made friends every where she went but she had two best friends, Rita and Lucy.
She listened to Gianni Lombardi’s CHIN radio and CFRB’s Talk show.
She loved Pavarotti and all the operas
She told us about the stories behind the operas and brought the all the characters to life.
She enjoyed knitting and cooking
It was comforting to hear her chopping aglio e prezzemolo and making her famous polpettine
It was endearing to watch her and her sister Elsa cuddled together reminiscing and giggling together.
She was everyone’s confidante and caretaker.
She took care of her ailing older sister, Yvonne and her middle sister Elsa. She took care of her cousin, her mother and her beloved Bepi.
She didn’t drive but that didn’t stop her; she took the TTC everywhere. She would pick up her her only child, Nadia, and escort her to swimming & skating lessons and when Nadia was old enough, Carmen ensured that she got her driver’s license!
When Nadia and Roger began dating and then married in 1985, Carmen welcomed Roger to the family with opened arms. Carmen loved Roger very much!
She was a wonderful Nonna to Theresa and Rita She would sing them lullabies and go tobogganing together. The girls thought it was hilarious when their Nonna fell off the sled and she couldn’t stop laughing.