Mourning in Pieve di Soligo. Sergio De Stefani, teacher, writer and dialect poet and former mayor of Pieve di Soligo, passed away on Christmas Eve at the age of 95. For everyone he was “the master” par excellence, having taught from the end of 1940 in courses for adults and then in the elementary school of Soligo until the 1990s.
“It is difficult to find a family from Soligo and the surrounding area who did not know him in this profession of his”, explain the children. He was also city councilor from 1965 to 1980, councilor, deputy mayor and even mayor of Pieve di Soligo between 1969 and 1970, when the mayor Mario Gerlin retired to enter the seminary. He has always been a man deeply attached to the world of school. One of the achievements of which he was most proud was, during his mandate as mayor, the establishment of the scientific high school, the teaching institute and the technical institute for surveyors, with the consequent creation of the high school pole in Pieve di Soligo public works, which has contributed not a little to the economic and cultural development of the Piave district and which is still today a real pride of the Pievigia community.
Passionate about music, De Stefani also directed the church choir of Pieve di Soligo for over forty years, as well as various alpine choirs, including the “Monte Cimon” of Miane. «He has always spent himself generously in the civil and cultural development of his community, without letting himself be tempted by political careerism and preserving his freedom and independence of judgement. He was a cultured person but with very simple habits, he was an acute observer and very involved in his community and his time» his children recall him, who continue: «When he was already old, he chose to collect his memories and his reflections, under the title “Par no’ desmentegar” (2000 and 2005). Like others of his generation, he lived intensely and passionately the service to his family, together with our mother, a woman of great intelligence and sensitivity, to the community, to the school and to the Church”.
Sergio De Stefani was also an artillery officer, a member of the local artillery section, very involved with this association. Condolence was expressed on behalf of the municipal administration and the whole town by the mayor of Pieve Stefano Soldan, who recalled De Stefani’s contribution to the growth and development of Pieve di Soligo: “Our thanks go to him and to all the family members the most fraternal closeness at this moment”. The funeral of the former mayor will be celebrated tomorrow at 3 pm in the Cathedral of Pieve di Soligo. Maestro Sergio De Stefani leaves behind his children Mirco, Paolo and Maria, his daughters-in-law Antonella and Paola, his nephews, sisters and all other relatives and friends, as well as generations of students. —