Businessman.
Born at Lappano, Cosenza, Italy on 29 October 1913, he owned a farm and sold market produce. In 1958, after a fire destroyed his farmhouse and killed a horse used to transport his products, he immigrated to Canada with his two sons and settled at Winnipeg. His wife Emilia joined them later. Initially, he worked as a clothes presser at Rice Sportswear then, in 1968, he established a small restaurant and grocery store on Portage Avenue with his four sons. It grew into a local institution, eventually comprising an extensive grocery of Italian and other European foods, a cooking school, and a wholesale business named De Luca Brothers that distributes products throughout western Canada and the US Midwest. He died at Winnipeg on 31 October 2009 and was buried in the Chapel of Eternal Memories Mausoleum.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 3 November 2009
“From Italy to Canada with lots of amore,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 November 2009.
De Luca Family, Deluca.ca.
We thank Zeel Bulsara for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 April 2026
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
