"Paul Minichiello is truly a 20 carat character - a bon vivant, connoisseur, family man, friend to the famous and benefactor to amateur sports. He's also a gambler of some skill (if there is such a thing) and a remarkable tailor. All in all, Paul makes better copy than a four alarm fire," wrote Dave Empey in The Citizen newspaper, circa 1970s.
Paul's bravura personality and his skill with a piece of cloth and a pair of scissors came from roots deep in the heart of Italy in the village of Civitanova del Sannio where he was born in 1940.
At five years old, Paul's mother arranged for him to sweep floors before and after school in the atelier of the local tailor.
It was the beginning of the boy's apprenticeship in the art and craft of fine tailoring.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, causing many Europeans to emigrate in search of a better life. Paul's father, Dominic, was a prisoner of war in India for the duration.
Soon after meeting his son, then seven years old, he immigrated to North Vancouver.
Paul was the first to leave Italy, home and family to join his father. He was 13, carrying two suits of his own design, sewn by his own hand. One Paul had made for himself. The other was a gift for his father.
Fitting into North Vancouver's school system was not an easy ride for a teenager who spoke only Italian.
Paul fared better out in the world where drive and chutzpah helped a fellow get ahead.
He learned English while driving a cab for North Shore Taxi and got his start as a tailor while working in John Petcoff 's drycleaners at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue.
Paul opened his own shop, Paul's of North Shore, on 15th Street next to the Totem Theatre in 1964. He married two years later, raising son Dominic (Dino) and daughter Julie with his wife, Joan Ashton, also from North Vancouver.
From this location, the first of several, Paul's innovative designs, notable for ease of movement and a natural body line executed in luxurious fabric and meticulous tailoring, attracted local and international style setters.
"Italians make good tailors," explains master tailor Frank Fuscaldo who worked with Paul for 35 years. "We like to look symmetrical, clean and sharp."
It seemed everyone - business mogul Jim Pattison, Vancouver Sun columnist Jack Wasserman, Canadian actor Leslie Neilsen, entertainers Sonny and Cher and the who's who of Canada's sporting world - wanted to wear Minichiello.
Sonny Homer was one of many clients from the BC Lions and suits for hockey icons Hull, Howe and Gretzky scored Paul a hat trick.
Physically unblessed with athletic ability, Paul's love of sport made his affiliation with the sporting life a good fit, so to speak.
He supported local sports clubs - soccer, softball, junior football included - and service organizations.
One story, among so many, is illustrative. At a fundraising casino night for the local Lions Club, Paul was ahead by $2,000.
"I can't take these cubs' money," he said, and proceeded to lose every dime back to the club.
Gambling winnings staked Paul to his first thoroughbred and launched a lifelong interest in the sport of kings.
For years, his racing stable, with its distinctive black and gold silks, was a fixture at Hastings Racecourse.
On June 8, Paul was there when a horse named Qatar's Pearl won the Paul Minichiello Purse, a special stakes race organized by his friends. With the announcement that Paul was in the house, riders, track staff and friends from the racing community lined up to shake his hand.
He was presented with a blanket inscribed with his name and a host of Paul's friends from the North Shore gathered round in the winner's circle to wish him well.
It was never just about the clothes. Over his span of years, the youth who travelled alone from the old world to the new touched a great many people with his passion for living and generous spirit.
At the close of a man's life, there is no better legacy.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275 [email protected]
