Bobby Orazietti, Sr. is being remembered by older brother Joe as a great local hockey player who transferred his work ethic on the ice to a career of working hard for the family’s furniture business.
Joe said his 78-year-old younger brother was playing the game he so loved right up to his final day.
“He was playing at the Pee Wee on Monday afternoon and he came off the ice and mentioned to his teammates that he was short-winded and couldn’t understand it,” said Joe. “He went home, laid down on his couch and fell asleep and that was it.”
Joe agreed to speak on behalf of the family, including Bobby’s widow Paula and two children Bobby Jr. and Robin. Bobby leaves behind five grandchildren and great grandchild.
With Bobby as centre and his late twin brother Billy and cousin Archie Orazietti as defencemen, the trio played together on the Jr. A Soo Greyhounds in the early 60s.
“Bobby was a real good skater and stickhandler. He was small, he wasn’t a big man and he took a lot of punishment from a lot of players,” said Joe.
Bobby’s twin brother Billy was another matter in the size department.
“Billy was Mr. Canada. He was a weightlifter and he was all muscles. You didn’t touch Bobby because you’d have Billy right behind,” said Joe. “When they played hockey, if you went after one Orazietti you had two more on your back.”
Working as a referee for 29 years, Joe often officiated games being played by his brothers, which led to some family squabbling.
“Bobby and Billy being players and Joe being the referee — it sometimes got a little hot with ‘why this’ and ‘why that.’ You know, but we got along. We were brothers, after all.”
The Orazietti trio played with the likes of Tony Esposito and Wayne Maki, who went on to careers in the NHL, and other Soo Greyhounds greats.
Joe said he believes Bobby had the talent to join them in the big show.
“Had he been bigger he would have made the NHL hands down, but just because of the size, even back then,” said Joe.
Bobby obviously made an impression on the fans, some of whom reached out to the family with memories of the man on and off the ice.
“It’s unreal the number of calls and people sending their condolences,” said Joe. “A lot of people really liked watching him, he was a play maker.”
Billy died in a dog sledding accident in 1994, while Archie still lives in Sault Ste. Marie.
After his hockey career, Bobby went to work across the street from Memorial Gardens at the Orazietti Furniture store, which was started in 1938 by his father Attillio.
After Bobby’s death, Joe is now the last of the siblings who took turns working at the store until it closed in 2016. The three sisters in the family, Adelia, Gloria and Antionette, have all died.
“There were six of us working together and then one by one everybody passed away,” he said. “Life goes by real fast, man. You don’t realize until sometimes it’s too late. You have to enjoy every day, if you can.”
“He was personable at the store and not hard to get along with,” said Joe of his brother.
After the furniture store closed, Bobby turned his full attention to his retail store called Stuff on Korah Road filled to the brim with his antique finds.
In his obituary, the family notes his finds can be seen in the homes of numerous community members and that the background information on all of them.
“He was a hard-working man,” said Joe of his brother. “He was well-liked, and he loved hockey.”