Dipalo, James and Consetta (Cozzubbo)

From military service to community leadership, the Dipalo family helped shape Calgary’s early Italian community.

Rose John Irene Raymond Victor Evelyn

James was born in Altamura, Bari, Italy. He came over with his father Giovanni and mother Rosaria in 1908. Attending school and settling into life in Calgary, he enlisted in the Canadian Army with the 1st Regimental Battalion of Alberta and was discharged as a private in May 1918. After learning the plumbing and heating business, he started his own company, J. Dipalo & Company (Plumbing, Gas Fitters & Tinsmith), in 1919.

James and Edith (Consetta)

James married Concetta (Edith) Cozzubbo in 1921. They resided at 229 3 Ave E where they raised their eight children: Rose, John, Fred (deceased at 11 months in 1926), Irene, Raymond, Victor, Evelyn, and Alfred.

Family life was busy with the Giovanni Caboto Loggia, St. Mary’s and St. Francis Churches, picnics, and family gatherings. Later on, James was instrumental in the formation of The Italo-Canadian Society. He assisted with the Stampede Parade float in 1932, with the family marching beside the float, and organizing Christmas parties for The Italo-Canadian Society.

James built boats and fished on the Ghost Dam, where his last boat was lost to the bottom of the dam during a severe storm in 1930.

Unfortunately, James passed away at age 44 in May 1948 of a heart attack and is buried at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Calgary.