Appreciation - Charles Vassallo

Guido de Marco, writes:

A long-standing Consul General for Malta passed away last Friday, October 16.

I had known Charles Vassallo since my first visit to the US in the early 1970s. I was in San Francisco as a young MP on a visit sponsored by the State Department with Dr Joseph Cassar, then a minister in the newly appointed Labour government of 1971. The sponsoring authorities had booked us into a hotel in San Francisco but Charles insisted that we both stay at his home as his personal guests. Our friendship had flourished since then; we were friends for over 30 years.

For all those years, Charles, who had left Malta as a young man after the war, remained very close to me and Mosta, his native village which he visited every year. Charles was a patron of the Malta Community Chest Fund, providing us with funds, hospital beds and wheelchairs.

When I went to visit him in San Francisco, his kindness and generosity knew no limits. When I had to make a stop over at Los Angeles on the way to Fiji to deliver, as President of Malta, the first Arvid Pardo Memorial Lecture, even though he had just carried out a serious heart operation he made it a point to fly over from San Francisco to be with me in Los Angeles.

Every Christmas he saw to it that I received a special cake from Cordina's and regularly sent me chocolates through any Maltese who happened to stop over in San Francisco. The last one I received, just a few weeks ago, was through Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi after his stay in San Francisco.

Charles never forgot that he was a Maltese and throughout his long years as our Consul there, he was of great help to any Maltese who needed it. He always stood up for Malta and had a good word for his native country. He made it a point to be generous with those Maltese who may have needed his financial help.

He was not in the best of health, yet his death took me by surprise. Many others like me have lost a friend.

Charles Vassallo was a great friend of Malta and indeed, a dear friend of mine.