‘Grazzi Ta’ Kollox, Pa’: Joseph Muscat’s Father Saviour Dies After Long Battle With Aggressive Tumour
- Joseph Muscat’s father Saviour Muscat has passed away after two and a half years battling an aggressive tumour.
Announcing the sad news today, the former Prime Minister said that his father had originally only been given a few months to live but he kept on fighting.
“I was hoping he would live to see his third Festa tas-Salvatur, which he used to live for, during his time fighting the tumour. However, everything turned around in the past 24 hours,” Muscat said.
“Destiny meant I was unable to be by his side when he took his last breath, but he was surrounded by my mother, Michelle, Etoile and Soleil. I feel serene because my father and I were close in the past 50 years, and particularly in the past two and a half years.”
In a tribute to his father, Muscat praised him for treasuring education and for discouraging him from accepting a job offer before he had graduated from university.
He said his father was one of his harshest political constructive critics.
“He always wanted me to improve, and if something passed his critical test, I would know it was the right decision.”
Muscat also noted his father’s passion for village feasts and said every feast organiser who worked with him could testify to his dedication and willingness to help.
He also recounted an incident where his father saved the life of a young boy who was playing with an unexploded firework.
“He was the most meticulous person I have ever known, and he was scared of fire although it was the love of his life,” he said.
“He never got injured through his own fault. The only incident he was ever involved in was when he was a youth and saw a boy playing with an unexploded firework.”
“He told him to leave it alone, and pushed it away from him, and it exploded. [My father] lost three fingers. A few years ago I met up with this boy, now a man, who told me that my father saved his arm if not his life.”
Muscat also remembered his father as a dog-lover and said he had a special relationship with his own Chow Chow Ħabiba.
“She will certainly miss him as much as we will,” he said.
Muscat concluded his tribute by thanking oncologist Nick Refalo, as well as former and current Health Ministers Chris Fearne and Jo Etienne Abela, and doctors Silvio Grixti, Deo Debattista, Clifford Caruana, Steve Montfort, Franco Mercieca and Arthur Garrard.
“Thank you for everything Pa,” he said.
Lovin Malta would like to extend its condolences to the Muscat family during its difficult time.
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