Photograph of (L-R) Italo, Maria, and Roy Orlando, Toronto, ON, 1960s

Black and white photograph of (L-R) Italo, Maria, and Roy Orlando, Toronto, ON, 1960s.

Maria, her husband Eliseo and their three children first settled on Queen Street before moving to the Beaches area. The eldest, Lidia, was born in Italy. Both boys were Canadian-born. Eliseo was a tailor and Maria was also an exceptional sewer.

In 1940, Eliseo and his two sons Italo and Roy Orlando were arrested and interned. At 16 years of age, Roy Orlando was likely the youngest Italian Canadian among the internees. After his brief internment of about three months, he returned to his studies and became an architect. Italo was interned for a few months more, but also returned to his studies on his release. Later, he went by the name of John, moved to California and became an aeronautical engineer for Boeing.