A line of motorcycles drove through southwest Calgary Monday morning, honouring a bike group member who died of cancer earlier this month.
“He was just a guy who loved riding, loved life and who loved having a good time,” says Jeff Freeman, friend of Salvatore (Sal) Fronte. “He was always there if you needed a shoulder to lean on, a buddy, someone to talk to.”
Sal was an active member of Calgary’s motorcycle community, and friends and family say it was difficult to find a place where people didn’t know him.
“Didn’t matter where we went,” Freeman says. “He always knew someone.”
Sal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022, just one year after he and his sisters lost their mom to cancer.
“It was difficult then,” says Angela Fronte, Sal’s youngest sister. “I don’t think any of us have gotten over it, so when Sal was diagnosed, we all stayed positive and knew the fighter he was.”
Sal died at the beginning of November, but his family points to the long list of people who lined the halls to the ICU to see him as the impact Sal had on the people he met.
“He really cared about everybody, and he showed it,” Angela says of her big brother. “That was the biggest thing we all appreciated and honour about him.”
Sal’s motorcycle group gathered Monday to escort his bike on its final ride, flanking it all the way to his sister’s house, where dozens of people gathered to pay their respects to Sal and his family.
“I feel so honoured that all these people could come and do this for us, for him,” Angela says.
But those who showed up say it’s what Sal would have done for them, and it’s all part of the legacy he leaves behind.
“We’re going to miss him and he’s going to leave a huge voice but we’re going to ride for him,” Freeman says. “We’re always going to have a little something our hearts for him every time we get on the bikes.”
While Angela and his other siblings hope Sal’s memory will serve as a reminder to live every day as he did.
“There’s no question in my mind that his soul and his heart and everything about him will continue on.”