Canberra menswear pioneer Sam Catanzariti who dressed prime ministers and countless other dignitaries made his first suit aged just 13.
A suit he made for then prime minister Gough Whitlam is even in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Early in his career in Canberra, he even made suits for the workers of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, filling his EH Holden with rolls of fabric and, at times, braving the slippery, snow-covered roads to travel back and forth doing fittings for them.
Known for his eponymous business, Sam Catanzariti Menswear, which he owned for 49 years, and which is still operating today, Mr Catanzariti passed away on April 14, aged 90.
His funeral was held on Wednesday at St Christopher's Cathedral in Forrest.
The congregation heard Mr Catanzariti started his tailoring apprenticeship as a boy in his home country of Italy, making his first suit at the age of 13 and working in Rome before migrating to Australia in 1954, looking for a better life.
Mr Catanzariti settled in Canberra, working first as a tailor in Kingston.
THE START OF HIS OWN BUSINESS
In 1956, he opened his own business and worked for himself, making hand-crafted suits while also teaching himself English.
His wife Gina came into his life when looking for a job as a tailoress. They fell in love and married in 1960, enjoying 64 years of married life.
They had two sons, Joe and Robert.
The early days of the business were not easy. Mr Catanzariti would work up to 20 hours a day, determined to succeed. His business savviness and desire to do the best for his customer were exemplified in those trips back and forth to the workers on the Snowy Mountains Hydro in their camps at Khancoban.
He would persevere with the trips, even when the EH's windscreen wipers froze in the snow and the car sometimes threatened to run over the edge of the road, not then protected by guard rails.
THE TAILOR TO PRIME MINISTERS
The quality of Mr Catanzariti's work soon became his calling card and before long he was the personal tailor of prime minister Gough Whitlam, as well as the provider of handmade suits to "actors, ambassadors, actors and archbishops".
He continued to work hard but made time for golf - aways accompanied by a sandwich and glass of red wine.
Sam Catanzariti Menswear was one of the original businesses in the Monaro Mall.
It is still going, now in Allara Street, across from the original mall.
Jovan Nikolevski took over the business in 2005, with the proviso the name remain, when Mr Catanzariti retired, that same year.
'I'M OK, NO COMPLAIN'
Mr Catanzariti is survived by his wife Gina, sons Joe and Robert and their families.
And also by a legacy that extended beyond his workmanship, friends and family said, to also a kind and caring nature.
And his signature attitude to life: "I'm OK, no complain".
