Alfred Petrone
| Alfred Petrone | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1925-01-06 Secord Street, Port Arthur |
| Died | 2009-12-10 |
| Occupation | Lawyer (Q.C.) |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
| Children | |
Alfred Antonio Petrone Q.C. (6 January 1925 – 10 December 2009 (aged 84)) was a Port Arthur-born defence lawyer, public-utilities chair and community figure in Thunder Bay.[1][2] The newspaper index notes: 84.
Life and family
Petrone was born on Secord Street in Port Arthur on 6 January 1925, the son of Luigi and Louisa Petrone (Luigi and Louisa).[1] As a child he was nicknamed the "gingerbread boy" because he ran everywhere; by the age of seven he was selling newspapers on Bay Street to help the family, and he also sold herring and set bowling pins.[1] He attended St Joseph's School and left the technical school at 15 after making his name on the football field, then worked in construction in western Canada.[1] He served in the Second World War.[3]
He became a leading criminal-defence lawyer and was appointed Queen's Counsel. A fictionalised version of one of his cases, in which he appears as the character Peter Coselli, is in Jane Bow's book Dead and Living, and he was profiled in the tribute volume Learned Friends: A Tribute to 50 Remarkable Ontario Advocates 1950–2000.[1]
In public life he ran for the public school board and topped the poll, served as a commissioner and then chair of Thunder Bay Hydro, and as chair of the Public Utilities Commission helped keep the telephone utility now called TBayTel in public hands.[1] He was president of the Thunder Bay Law Association, a director of the Advocates' Society, the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association and the YMCA, an honorary life member of the Italian Mutual Benefit Society, and a member of the Royal Canadian Legion.[1]
He died at home on 10 December 2009. He was survived by his partner Celina Reitberger, by six children (Marianne, Cathie, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Mark and Elysia), by his sister Rita, sister-in-law Marcella and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, by his brother Frank, by sisters Mary and Penny, and by a brother-in-law, Mac.[1] The funeral Mass was held at St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church on 15 December 2009.[1]
Newspaper record
- Graduation notice in Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 1949-06-13.[4]
- Index note: To Osgoode Hall.
- Photo notice in Fort William Daily Times-Journal, 1961-02-06.[5]
- Index note: Lawyers meet.
- Biographical notice in The Chronicle-Journal, 1983-10-12.[6]
- Index note: Selling newspapers taught honor.
- Biographical notice in The Chronicle-Journal, 1993-06-27.[7]
- Index note: Profile/Actor's life in the law.
Notes
- Identity: the 1949 Port Arthur News-Chronicle graduation notice ("To Osgoode Hall"), the 1961 lawyers' notice, the 1983 profile about selling newspapers and the 1993 profile "Actor's life in the law" listed above match the obituary, as does the age of 84 in the index. Parents Luigi (wife Louise) and brother Frank lived at 147 Secord Street, Port Arthur in 1950 per Henderson's.
- His father Luigi Petrone (foreman, 147 Secord Street) is the same man as the Luigi Petrone who died in 1963; the two records were merged.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Obituary for Alfred Antonio Petrone, The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay), 12–13 December 2009, via Legacy.com. Archived copy on datum.locker.
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 12 December 2009, p. 1(A)
- ↑ In-memoriam notice for Alfred Anthony Petrone, Q.C., The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay), December 2019, via Legacy.com. Archived copy on datum.locker.
- ↑ Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 13 June 1949, p. 8
- ↑ Fort William Daily Times-Journal, 6 February 1961, p. 3
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 12 October 1983, p. 17
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 27 June 1993, p. 7(A)