John Comelli’s favourite film was The Godfather and memories of his life played out like scenes from a movie on Friday during a eulogy delivered at his funeral by niece Angelica Butler.
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The service at St Frances Xavier’s Cathedral started with Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma and ended with pall-bearers leading the congregation out into bright sunshine to the theme from The Godfather.
But the final chapter in the John Comelli story did not go quite as planned. His burial was not able to go ahead because it was determined the ground at Bulli Cemetery was too wet.
Mrs Butler ended the eulogy by saying her uncle was having his “last fight with council” and invited those present to a small celebration of his life at Anita’s Theatre.
Goddaughter Natasha Comelli read a tribute by friend of 50 years Ian Smith. But Mrs Butler started the eulogy by recalling the John Comelli story in acts.
The first one being his family’s migration to Australia from Italy when he was 11 and how he and his brother Paul created havoc on the boat during their six week journey.
They first lived in hostel style accommodation in Port Kembla and how the first job for her uncle who never walked away from a fight was as a waiter at the cafe Capri.
Mrs Butler recalled how in very chapter of his life her uncle was a man who had presence. But she also remembered him sitting at a pub in Nowra with no shoes reading a newspaper. She revealed there were two sides to the man born in war-torn Europe in 1945 and said “this is the John Peter Comelli Show”.
Act II started with the story of how he ran away to Sydney with a singer at 18. His father hired a private detective to bring him home and sent him off to Italy for a holiday but had arranged for him to be conscripted into the police force when he arrived.
Act III was meeting and falling in love with an Australian named Anita holidaying in Italy. “When they got married they had no money. John was working at the steelworks by day and waiting tables by night”.
Act IV was when John and Paul started Comelli Bros. The business enjoyed even more success when Anita became involved. “They say behind every great man is a great woman..and he absolutely adored her. And he must be smiling now watching Christina and Natasha, his goddaughter, continuing the legacy,” Mrs Butler said.
Act V was what Mr Comelli meant to all his nieces and and their children and how they enjoyed visiting him in his office and the many holidays and activities they enjoyed together. Mrs Butler said he was “the biggest kid of them all’. He was generous with his time and his money and worked hard.
“You made some contraversial decisions, you built some memorable buildings and you certainly gave this town Anita’s Theatre,” Mrs Butler said.
But in his final chapter he was a different man. He was reflective, calm and at peace during a long stay in hospital. And as the final curtain began to fall he told his family many stories from his colourful life and made sure they all knew how proud he was of them.
“Uncle Peter, until the end you believed you were The Godfather. Even losing your voice just enough to sound like Marlon Brando. And how poetic that when you took your last breath you were holding your goddaughter’s hand,” Mrs Butler said.
The service at St Francis Xavier’s started with the words “we are here to remember someone who was a larger than life figure in Wollongong and who made quite an impact on the life of his community after starting from humble beginnings.
And it ended with a comment of how appropriate it was that included the sound of another larger than life figure in Luciano Pavarotti. The order of service featured family photos of a young Mr Comelli accompanied by the words “John lived very minute of his life with conviction. He was a proud man who definitely made his mark”.
It was noted how Mr Comelli’s earliest memories would have been of post war Italy and how Wollongong has been enriched by the legacy of what he and his family contributed by migrating to Australia.
In the message written by Mr Smith there was a recollection of the first time Mr Comelli spoke of doing a renovation on an old hotel.
“The first project was the Corrimal Hotel transformation. He went on to do The Harp and then the Undanderra Hotel. The differences before and after were truly amazing. And then came the King’s Theatre at Thirroul”.
Mr Smith recalled how it was being used by skateboarders and was full of pigeons before being transformed into what we now know as Anita’s Theatre. “It was the result of the inspiration of an Italian kid who came to this country with his family after the war with no English and no qualifications. But he had a dream. And oh what a dream,” Mr Smith said.
Anita’s was built on love. And when Mrs Comelli became very ill in 2005 and was in palliative care at St Vincent’s Hospital her husband decided she would never be alone. He set up a roster family members filled during the day and then he would stay all night every night on a fold-up bed next to her. After Anita’s death Mr Comelli continued putting the finishing touches on the theatre he decided to name after his life-long partner. Now that passion and love he had for his wife and building beautiful things will see Anita’s Theatre remain as a lasting legacy of John Peter Comelli.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
