Ismael Toledo Montijo

October 30, 1937 - January 27, 2018

Ismael Toledo Montijo aka "Cano Pio", age 80, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 27, 2018, at Temple Hospital in Philadelphia surrounded by his loved ones. He was born October 30, 1937 in Hatillo, Puerto Rico to Santos Montijo and Perfecta Toledo, but migrated to Philadelphia at a young age where he planted his roots. He was a loving spouse, father, stepfather, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, brother, and friend. When you thought of the "Montijo" name you thought of Cano, his piercing baby blue peepers and white as paper legs. He was awesome in every way, maybe only 5' 3" , if that, but everyone respected the OG and if not, you were going to respect him one way or another. His infectious charisma brought an unexplainable joy to everyone he came in contact with. He was a man of many trades; a farmer, a construction worker, entrepreneur, and he could make a mean shrimp fried rice and pepper steak. This red hot stubborn Puerto Rican was a firecracker at the Dominos table; he was kicking ass and taking names, and no one wanted to take on the champion. If you dared to spell his name wrong or pronounce it incorrectly you may want to duck because there was surely a "Marylou" coming your way. If you were ever looking for Cano you would hear him miles before you seen him sitting in Jay's bar with a cold Budweiser in his hand smiling from ear to ear, face as red as a firetruck , and if you ever had a runny nose you knew to run as fast as you can in the other direction because it was only a matter of seconds before he was reaching into his back pocket for his snotty handkerchief. Cano was his name and numbers were his game, a true math genius who taught many of his children and grandchildren how to do math. He was a car lover and always rode in style from his jeep with the golden eagle, to his many station wagons, all the way down to his green pickup truck. Although he loved cars he could not drive for the life of him, as he drove in between both lanes, he would curse out the other people on the road giving everyone riding in the car with him a mean case of whiplash. If the Eagles or Phillies were playing, it was certain that Cano was hanging in the living room watching the game calling the opposing team every name in the book. You could tell he loved his Eagles and Phillies just by looking at his closet. Cano was the epitome of a picture hoarder you could find pictures of everyone he knew, their mothers and grandmothers in his wallet, in his room, on a train, on a plane, here, there, everywhere. After every meal, we looked forward to hearing him say his favorite saying "pipita jalita corazon contento." Cano was a man full of wisdom, laughter, sarcasm and joy, and we will all miss him dearly. His love is now like the wind--we can't see it but we can feel it. Relatives and friends are invited to his Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 3, 2018 in St. Andrew Church, 1911 Wallace St., Phila. Friends may call at the church on Saturday morning from 9:45 a.m. until 11 a.m. Int. New Cathedral Cemetery, 3900 N. Front St., Phila. Arr. Dinan Funeral Home, Phila., PA. Condolences may also be sent to www.dinanfuneralhome.com