Giuseppe Di-Finizio was shaped in the rubble and poverty of post-war Naples and went on to establish one of Perth’s most popular businesses.
He was the man behind Pino’s chip shop branches in Leonard Street and Old High Street.
Together with his wife Ida (Divito) who also came from an Italian family, the couple started with a chip shop in Newburgh in the early 1960s.
Customer service
Known as Pino, he dressed in whites and insisted his staff did the same and he made a point of welcoming all customers with a smile.
Pino, who has died aged 85, firmly believed that it did not take customers long to spot an owner who did not care.
His approach paid off and there were often long queues outside both his shops late into the evening.
Struggle
Pino was born in Naples in May, 1937, and he and his family experienced near starvation at the end of the war.
His son, Armando, a retired headteacher, said: “I think this shaped his character for the rest of his life.
“He was determined never to go back to that state again and from this came a strong work ethic and a determination to succeed.”
Business
In 1959 he made the move to Scotland and cleaned stables, worked as a lab technician, then a dental technician before meeting Ida whose family had come to Newburgh in the late 1920s.
The family ran an ice cream shop and fish and chip shop, the latter of which Pino and Ida took over in the early 1960s.
In the mid 1970s they took over the Leonard Street shop in Perth before adding the Old High Street branch.
Retiral
Ida died in 1985, the Newburgh shop was sold and Pino retired from business around 1990.
Armando said: “He worked very long hours, seven days a week until my mum eventually persuaded him to close on Wednesdays.
“If someone came in the shop at the end of the night after we’d cleaned all the pans he would switch back on the pans and fry them a fish or more chips, while whoever was working with him would look on in dismay.”
Discipline
Pino’s shops opened late, often until 1am and he sometimes had to deal with difficult customers who were the worse of drink. While most behaved, he was known to have chased a few down the road.
Pino excelled at golf and was dedicated to cycling, which he took up in his native Italy.
He returned to the sport in the 1970s and would ride up to 60 miles a few times a week until six years ago.
Later years
Pino later married Pamela and lived in Balhousie Avenue in Perth.
Following a stroke, his final four years were spent living with vascular dementia, cared for by Pam.
Pino is survived by his children Armando, Iolanda, Silvana, Maria and Luisa.