Dino De Pieri

Thank you all for taking a moment to read, honour and celebrate the life of Dino De Pieri. I'm Roger De Pieri, and Dino was the middle brother in my family and is survived by myself and my eldest brother Robert.

As many of you know, Dino has been partially estranged from the family for quite a long time, making it challenging to talk about the man he was, as I don't have a great understanding of his life. I know he struggled immensely with addiction, which resulted in him experiencing significant long-term health issues that eventually caught up with him due to the years of drug-abuse. In Dino's latter years, I became a bit closer to Dino and spoke with him regularly; he suffered a lot with his health, from having a massive stroke in his early 40s that left him partially paralyzed to having his leg amputated due to disease. I can say that even through all of his hardships and challenges, he always maintained a positive attitude toward life. After his stroke, he began to turn his life around and remained drug-free for nearly ten years, working toward improving his situation, which is admirable. In 2019 after our mother passed away, Dino suffered a setback and returned to his former life.

In the late spring of 2021, Dino finally realized he had enough of the drug scene and once again was clean. He was in and out of the hospital a fair bit and finally landed a nice place to live that provided him with the support he needed through assisted living.

In the day leading up to his death, I went to see him, and he was happy I was there. His mind was all there, but sadly his body was not cooperating. We talked about a few things; Robert (our older brother) joined us via telephone to share in the conversation, which made Dino even happier. I found it to be a blessing that both Robert and I were given the opportunity to at least say goodbye to our brother. In some ways, I think it makes the pain of loss easier to manage as not many people are afforded an opportunity like that, as sometimes things happen suddenly.

The life lesson for me was to stay away from drugs. It was hard to watch my brother spiral downward and throw away his life over this thing he couldn't control. I grew up watching the harm, pain, and suffering he endured with his addiction until I was in my early twenties, and I also witnessed and experienced the pain and sorrow in my parent's eyes that they were feeling too.

I think the legacy Dino does leave behind, and the lesson to all of us he serves, is to recognize the signs of addiction early, and if you are struggling with or need help, reach out. Support and help are available to get help sooner than later, so you never have to endure in life as Dino did with his addiction.

In closing, I hope and pray Dino's soul is finally free of the struggles that have haunted him most of his life, and he can spend his time in eternity in peace. He will be deeply missed by many - I love you, Dino. Thank you for being part of our lives and helping in shaping me into who I am today.

I want to leave you with this inspiring quote by "Unknown," but before I do, God Bless, and thank you for taking a moment to learn a little more about my brother.


"Never underestimate a recovering addict. We fight for our lives every day in ways most people will never understand."


“UNKNOWN”