Alex Agius Cesareo and Victor Mangion write:

The news that Dino Stilon had left this life stunned his family and his many friends. It was known that he had just started combating a condition, but the process was expected to extend over time, and his sudden, unexpected death came like a bolt from the blue and left us with a tremendous sense of loss.

Dino was a gentleman par excellence, and his soft-spoken sociability and his calm demeanour endeared him to everyone. Although he had firm opinions on certain subjects, in the many years we have known him we never saw him losing his temper or even showing serious anger. His equanimity was no doubt helped by his well-developed sense of humour which, besides enabling him to appreciate fully the good jokes we regularly shared, also helped him to see the lighter side when things went wrong.

A fondness for travel was characteristic of Dino, and together with our wives we travelled abroad together many times, often using our cars or rented ones.

It is well known that travelling together can be a severe test of friendship and it is a tribute to his and his wife Stephanie’s character that not once did we have any falling out, and we have remained the best of friends. We have very pleasant memories of many hours spent together and innumerable discussions about various topics, including the usual well-meaning attempts to solve a few national or world problems.

Dino was a founder member of the Malta branch of the Catenian Association in 1981, and participated regularly in Catenian functions ever since. He was also keen on skiing, for which he kept an annual appointment with resorts in the Dolomite mountains in Italy accompanied by Stephanie, son Stefan and his wife Rachel and lately their young sons Sean and Edward.

Dino was very fond of music, and had a real passion for electronic gadgetry. He was always on the lookout for new products and nothing but the latest and most up-to-date versions would satisfy him.

We used to tease him about how he would, as we walked around sightseeing in foreign towns, gravitate unfailingly towards stores, big or small, that sold electronics; but then on the other hand we were glad that with his equipment he was able to produce excellently edited videos, with sound, of our trips together, which enabled us to experience once again happy moments, humorous episodes and beautiful scenery from our travels.

It was not in Dino’s nature to be demonstrative, but his love for his family, which was amply requited, was plain to see.

He took particular pleasure in proudly recounting little episodes involving his grandsons, including their recent first attempts at skiing. Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Stephanie, Stefan, Rachel, Sean and Edward, who will miss him sorely, as will we and his brother Catenians.

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