Our beloved brother and uncle, Elio Papais passed away peacefully at his home on September 21, 2026, at the age of 93 years. He was born on March 10, 1933, in a small town in Northern Italy, to Angelo Papais and Ida Nonis. His beloved parents had five children in total: Giuseppe, Maria, Rosalia, Elio and Silvana. All predeceased him except for his older sister, Rosalia (98 years old). It was a close-knit family, and Elio grew up with siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles all living under one roof.

Growing up during war time impressed Elio the need to look to other countries to find work stability and a future. Together, with his brother, Giuseppe and his sister Rosalia, they immigrated to Canada in the early 1950’s and started to build a new life. A man of many talents, Elio was trained as a cheesemaker in Italy, a carpenter in Canada, and he worked in a chemical plant. He also had a passion for real estate investment. He was an extremely hard worker and was constantly busy, either taking care of his properties, helping his family or tending to his vegetable garden. Our beloved Zio Elio loved Canada and the wonderful opportunities it provided for him. Driving along country roads was a weekly highlight for him.

Successful real estate ventures allowed Elio to retire in his early 50’s which in turn allowed him to spend time with family and friends in Italy and Canada. Elio married Vera Pumprova and was able to spend quality time with her family in the Czech Republic before her death in 1986. Elio had many good memories of travelling with Vera across Europe.

He leaves behind his sister, Rosalia, his Canadian nieces and nephews, Stefano, Sylvia (Ottash), and Claudia (Ralph) and his great nieces and nephews, which gave him much joy and love over the years: David (Kailey), Laura (Danielle) and Adam (Amanda). He was blessed and excited to be a great, great uncle to Aria, Nora and Sena and delighted in seeing the family grow and thrive.

He will also be missed by his nieces and nephews in Italy, Rosanna, Rita, Sandra, Tiziana and Paolo and their families.

Zio Elio was a great uncle and we will miss him!