Nicola Sainato

Colonie - Nicola Sainato passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by loved ones, after a battle with Glioblastoma.

He was born March 6, 1949 in Gioiosa Jonica, Reggio Calabria, Italy, the third oldest of nine children to Marianna Femia and Rocco Sainato.

At the age of 26, after serving in the Italian military, he emigrated to the United States where he found a beloved wife and best friend, a cherished son, grandsons, and nieces and nephews who affectionately knew him as Zi Nicola.

He was a constant source of warmth, love, and an always embracing smile toward his family and friends. His parents who farmed their own land, instilled in him and his siblings an appreciation for the joy of gardening. He always maintained a garden at home, yielding fresh food every summer, from fig trees to cucumbers, and maintaining a deep connection with the land, and sharing that connection and love with those around him. He worked for several local restaurants, then at Freihofer’s Bakery before retiring in 2016.

He enjoyed Calabrian music, exploring the world in traveling with his wife, sitting around a table filled with food speaking Calabrese dialect with his family and friends, the countless holidays spent in his home, with food courses being swapped in and out faster than you could eat them, and listening to the bellowing of Calabrian dialect from him and his brothers into those late evenings that unwound over a table of fruit, chestnuts, and tubs of cookies and other desserts, and scrambling out of his brother Corrado’s house with his nephews after watching Italy win the World Cup in 2006 to celebrate with all the other Italian immigrants in Albany.

Today, between Albany and Gioiosa, the silence is deeper. But, his legacy lives on in the memory of his loved ones, his beloved Margarita, his son Luca, his siblings, his nieces and nephews, all the Sainato’s scattered around the world and in every joyful heart that knew and loved him.

Nicola is survived by his wife of 42 years, Margarita Sainato, son, Luca (Julia), grandsons Jude and Leo, brothers Francesco (Aurelia), Vincenzo (Caterina), Raffaele (Michele), Corrado (Ellen), Luciano (Stefania), sisters Rosa (Rocco), Teresa (Vincenzo), dozens of nephews, nieces, cousins, and his dog, Daisy.

He is preceded in death by his parents Marianna Femia and Rocco Sainato, and sister Gina (Luigi).

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Nicola’s family on Sunday from 1 to 4 pm at Cannon Funeral Home, 2020 Central Ave., Colonie. Funeral services will be Monday morning at 11:00 at the Funeral Home. Interment will be in Memory Gardens.

In keeping with Nicola’s specific wishes and in lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to Glioblastoma Foundation (www.GliblastomaFoundation.org). To leave a message of condolence for the family, visit www.CannonFuneral.com

“He who leaves never really dies, as long as there is someone who remembers him with love”