Peo (Bert) Bertuzzi Chief Petty Officer, Royal Canadian Navy

CPO Peo (Bert) Bertuzzi was born in Udine, Italy on June 11, 1920. His family came to Canada when he was a toddler and settled in Sudbury. His father died when he was 10 so he left school at age 12 to live and work in a bakery to support his mother and six siblings. As a teenager he moved to work at INCO in Port Colborne but continued to send money back to his northern Ontario family as their major provider. 

Bert enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy in Hamilton in 1943, where he did basic training. He was sent to Halifax where he did additional training and was then stationed on HMCS Victoriaville which was part of the North Atlantic Convoy Escort to England. He was discharged from service in 1945. 

He married Ida Ferroni in 1946. They met when she was a civilian server at the Staff House Mess Hall when he  did his naval training in Hamilton. Together they raised three children: Larry Bertuzzi (Uxbridge/Port Perry), Sharon Agro, and Carole Bertuzzi Luciani. He became the proud grandfather to eight and continued as patriarch to the extended Bertuzzi family of six siblings & their 35 children in Sudbury and Toronto throughout his life.

During his time in the navy, he learned the pipefitter trade and after the war he was employed building smokestacks at Steel Companies in Hamilton and other facilities. He was then hired into management at Thorold Concrete Block 1952 and spent his full career in concrete construction materials, culminating in Vice Presidency at Canadian Building Materials (CBM). Never one to let an opportunity pass him by, he completed his high school education at night and took various interest courses, following the example set by American Dale Carnegie. He never stopped learning.

He was an inveterate tinkerer and problem-solver, and an inventor of items before his time. He enjoyed golf, scoring five holes-in-one, curling, and gardening and would happily volunteer for anything and everything, winning several awards and recognition for his efforts. He died in Mississauga in 2001 after 65 years of marriage.

We thank him for his service.

We will remember them.

Photo 1 – Peo (Bert) Bertuzzi 

Photo 2 -  Peo Bertuzzi (L) and his brother-in-law Armand Ferroni (R) while serving on HMCS Victoriaville

Photo 3 – HMCS Victoriaville