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September 18, 1942 –

March 14, 2016


Brian James Cristofoli passed away peacefully with family by his side on March 14, 2016 at Castleview Care Centre at the age of 73.

He is survived by his wife Linda, sons Tim and Marty (Anna); sister Caren (Joe), brothers Richard (Arlene) and Roger (Judy). He was predeceased by his parents Florence and Giacomo and his younger sister Yvonne (Kelly).

He was born in Trail on September 18, 1942, but moved with his family to Castlegar when he was in Grade 3. After Brian’s father passed away, Brian along with his siblings, helped keep the family together and look after his mother till her passing at 79.

He started working at Canada Post at the age of 20, where he sorted mail, loaded mail trucks headed to Vancouver and Calgary and worked on the wickets selling stamps and weighing parcels. This is where Brian made many great friends and came to know many people in the community as well as meet his future wife Linda Fraser. He endured many CUPW/Canada Post strikes over his 35 years, retiring at the age of 55.

Brian had many interests and passions but above all he loved to downhill ski. He owned a season pass at Red Mountain for over 40 years. He also had a passion for music with his album collection in the 100’s with music ranging from Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, Anne Murray and Glen Campbell to Ian Tyson, The Eagles, James Taylor, and Simon & Garfunkel to name a few. He spent countless hours listening to music and enjoyed learning and playing the guitar.

Brian was a self taught, do-it-yourselfer. He hired a contractor to build the family home to a certain stage and then finished the rest himself. In his spare time Brian loved to read, do crossword puzzles, cryptograms and word searches. He could not walk by a printed page or a crossword puzzle without picking it up to see if it was something he wanted to read or fill in.

Brian liked to travel, from ski trips with his friends to family road trips once the children came along. He managed to see most of Canada except Newfoundland and the Territories, and a lot of the western USA. He cruised to Alaska, as well as through the Panama Canal and on the Mediterranean.

The family would like to thank friends, neighbours and relatives for their support and prayers while Brian made his journey through Alzheimers. A special thank you to Dr. Merritt and the staff of Castleview for their wonderful care of Brian during the 26 months that he lived there.

A funeral service took place on Friday, March 18th at the Castlegar Funeral Chapel.



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