From Nivo Angelone

I have always been reticent when it came to expressing my feelings, but on this occasion I feel that I must do so for the benefit of Ron’s family.

I met Ron about 33 years ago through the Italian Chamber of Commerce. At the beginning I used to attend all of his seminars on Taxation, on Succession and Estate Planning. As I became more involved with the Chamber it was very clear that Ron was the éminence grise. He was always present and whenever anyone of importance was present, such as a representative of the Italian or Canadian Government and institutions. In delicate or important situations, Ron was the one who was always entrusted to be the master of ceremonies, to make a speech or an introduction. I always admired his logical mind, his clarity, his being able to see the big picture and take care of the minutest detail.

In 2002 the Chamber was going through a difficult time when I became its president and Ron was and remained Chairman of the board. There was a lot of pruning to be done and the Chamber went through some major transformations. The Chamber now is considered one of the most respected and vibrant organizations in the country. Ron was instrumental in implementing the change and I always admired the dignity with which he treated people, no matter who they were.

Through the years I noticed that it wasn’t easy to gain Ron’s trust but once one did, it was unconditional. I had the great honour of being trusted and it was magic knowing that I could always count on him. He was the only one.

A few weeks ago Ron called me to see if I would help him speed up the process of being able to work with qi gong or vital energy. I have been doing taiji, qi gong, meditation, and other spiritual work for decades and sometime we talked about it. I started seeing Ron regularly and working with these modalities. (In particular I used qi gong, tuena, acupressure, exercises of letting go as in the Zen tradition, Emotional Freedom Techniques). The last time I saw him I asked how he felt with what we were doing. He resonated best with the letting go exercises and the qi gong exercises. He was open to all of these things and that is mainly thanks to Joan. He said that he felt peaceful, lighter and serene. If that is the case then I am grateful that I was able to help him attain that peace.