Oh Danny Boy
Dante Testa, known as Danny to many of his friends was born in Avellino, Italy on the 26th December 1932. He would have been 83 on Boxing Day.
Dante was the fourth of 6 children, born to Vincenzo and Giuseppina Testa. His early years were tough, having to endure the dangers and resulting poverty of the Second World War. He left school at 13 to work so he could help contribute to the limited family finances, like many children born in that era.
Following the war the London Brick Company based in Stewartby, Bedford, was the largest producer of bricks in the UK and to satisfy the huge demand for the bricks needed to rebuild London, they recruited fit young men to work in their Brick yards from all over the world. So to better his life, he left his native Italy at the tender age of 18 with a small suitcase, for what was to become his new home in Bedford England.
When he arrived in Stewartby he lived in army style barracks, similar to those you would have seen on the TV series Auf Viedersein Pet, where he met and befriended many other Italians that were to become friends for life. And so began the Italian community that was to change the demographics of Bedford forever.
Following an accident in which he injured his back he found himself in the Italian hospital in London where he met the love of his life, my Nonna Maddalena. He wasted no time in marrying her in 1956 and went on to have 3 sons together, Enzo, Tony and Roy. I thank God that we were fortunate to have the foresight to celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary early due to his poor health, in September this year.
But life in the brick yards was not for Dante and he couldn't wait for the 4 year contract that had paid for him to come to Bedford to end. Despite not having had a good education, he was a clever and talented man. He taught himself about car engines and became a mechanic working for what was then the Bedford Bus company.
From there he went on to work in Millbrook for a new Icecream franchise that had come the UK from America - Mr Softee as the head mechanic, where he spent some of the best years of his life. The Ice Cream vans had 2 engines, one for the van and one that drove the revolutionary new Ice cream whipping machines. Again he taught himself how they worked and became such an expert on them that the owners would often come over from America to ask his advice on how to improve the next model.
But Dante's ambition's were not satisfied and as well as well as being manually adept, he was also a very talented singer. He would often sing at parties, weddings and at the pub on Sunday lunchtimes with his friends Eddie, Alan, and Terry. As well as singing the old Italian favourites, he loved singing "Oh Danny Boy", My Way and "Joseph's coat". At the height of following his passion for singing he got the chance to sing in Covent Garden, which resulted in the opportunity to sing professionally, but turned down the opportunity because it would have meant being away from his family too much.
So he turned to his other ambition which was to own his own business. Initially he thought of starting his own garage business but eventually settled on benefitting from the exceptional cooking talents of his wife Maddalena, who he, and we all think is the best cook in the world. The only downside of fulfilling this ambition was that he would have to leave his beloved Bedford and in 1965 moved his family to Nuneaton in Warwickshire. Although their business was successful, he couldn't stand being away from the rest of his family and friends, and moved back to Kempston in 1967, where he has lived ever since.
Initially he returned to his old job at Mr Softee, before joining his sons in the local Newspaper business at the Bedford Journal (later renamed the Herald) in 1980, starting in maintenance and distribution and eventually ending his days as courier for the Home Counties Newspaper group before taking early retirement in 1996.
Although he retired early, Dante was never without something to do. It allowed him to pursue his passion for gardening, wine making (and drinking it), helping and supporting his family as it grew in whatever way he could, and best of all eating the delicious food cooked by his wife, our Nonna.
Grandad enjoyed a simple but full life. He was not interested in money or chattels, he lived for his family and devoted his life to looking after his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was a kind, friendly, helpful, generous man who touched the lives of many people and had many friends. Most recently he helped a young Romanian family Liviu and Tina, settle into the UK. He understood only too well what it felt like to be all alone in a foreign country, away from your family and made them feel part of our family.
He would not have wanted us to be sad, but leaves us all with many beautiful memories to share and remember him by, so thank you for celebrating his life before God our father. He is no longer suffering and may he now rest in peace.