Mario Canestraro

Rotterdam – Mario Canestraro, 93, passed away on Tuesday, January 11th, 2022. Mario was born April 17,1928 in the town of Sora, Province of Frosinone, Italy to his parents the late Crescenzo and Santa (Riggi) Canestraro. He married his beloved wife, Isabella, in 1951 and made his journey to America in 1955 with Isabella and son Chris following in 1958. Mario worked as a foreman at John DiGiulio Construction in Albany for many years, retiring in 1990 and was a 65 year member of Laborers’ Local 157. Mario enjoyed the simple things in life- sitting on his front porch chatting with passersby, fishing and tending to his large vegetable garden. Together with their homegrown tomatoes, Mario and Isabella made and canned their homemade tomato sauce. They also made homemade sausage, prosciutto and wine, always taking time to enjoy eating and sharing the fruits of their labors. Mario is survived by his son, Christopher (Kathy) Canestraro; grandson, Eric (Dianna) Canestraro; granddaughter, Amanda (Justin) Kruzinski; twin great grandsons, Lucas and Connor as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, Mario was predeceased by his wife of 66 years, Isabella (Casinelli) Canestraro and his siblings, Armando, Salvatore, Anita and Dominica. A calling hour will be held on Saturday from 9:15am-10:15am at DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 1605 Helderberg Ave., Rotterdam with a funeral mass to follow at 11am at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 1255 Pleasant St., Schenectady, NY 12303. Mario will be laid to rest next to Isabella at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Schenectady. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church at the address above or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105. To share condolences with Mario’s family, visit demarcostonefuneralhome.com.