This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: curotto, fontana, bertoni, Queirolo, Meroney, noonan, vella Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/YW.2ADI/4094 Message Board Post: John Curotto, longtime resident, business owner dies Monday, May 30, 2005 1:56 PM PDT JOHN D. CUROTTO 05.31.05 - Longtime El Verano resident John D. Curotto died on May 20, 2005, after a long illness. He was 89 years of age. Mr. Curotto was born June 6, 1915, in San Francisco. His parents, Pietro and Maria Curotto, were farmers from Borzonasca, Italy, and had come to America temporarily on work visas. Shortly after Mr. Curotto's birth, they returned to their native Italy and there Mr. Curotto lived until he was approximately 20 years old. Life in Italy was extremely difficult, economically and politically. It was also dangerous for a young American citizen. At the first rumblings of war, his family insisted that he return to the United States, rather than risk fighting for the fascist forces of Mussolini. John's wife, Margaret, said he was very firm in his loyalty to his birth country, vowing to "never fight against America." John never saw his parents again. His younger brother, Nicola was a partisan, fighting for the freedom of Italy. He was executed because of his beliefs and, in part, because he supported the Americans who had, by then, entered the war. Traveling with a cousin, John returned to California with $2 in his pocket and no English-language skills. He worked first in Stockton, but found the dry, hot weather too stifling, so he went to work for an indoor nursery on Geneva Street in San Francisco. The outdoor life was more to his liking on the vegetable farms in the Lake Merced area of San Francisco where he toiled long and hard to start his new life in America. Of those earliest days, his daughter recalls her father saying, of his impoverished state, that "napkins would have tasted good." He then went to work for the Sunset Scavenger Company, eventually becoming a partner in that company. He was a boarder in the home of Giuseppe Fontana and his wife, Giulia. It was she who was the matchmaker, and in 1938 John married Margaret Fontana at Mission Dolores Catholic Church, in San Francisco, a union that lasted for almost 67 years. They lived in San Francisco but spent their spare time on the property that they purchased in El Verano in August 1947. Room by room, weekend upon weekend, together they built the home where their children were raised and where Margaret still resides. After leaving Sunset Scavenger Company in 1953, Mr. Curotto worked briefly in Petaluma. He and his wife bought the Sonoma Garbage Collector from Angelo Bertoni in August 1954. The Curotto's still have the 1953 Ford garbage truck that was included in the purchase. Mr. Curotto's son, John Jr., said, "He was a one-man crew, no vacation, no holidays, no sick leave, no nothing." His wife, Margaret, did all of the bookkeeping. The children helped their parents with the door-to-door bill collecting every other month. Once, he fell off a vehicle and cracked several ribs making his job extremely painful, so his partner, Margaret, pulled out the full garbage cans to make them more accessible to John, making the task easier for him, enabling them to maintain full service to their customers. On the rare occasion that he was sidelined, his brother-in-law, Dino Queirolo, also helped out on the route. In 1960, upon his graduation from Sonoma Valley High School, John Jr. joined his Dad on the job. They would stop for coffee every morning at Billie's and later at the L&N Donut Shop, forming friendships that last to this day. Their daughter, Jo Anne, heads the bookkeeping and office side of the business, with grandsons Kevin and John also in the garbage business, making Sonoma Garbage truly a family-run company located in the original El Verano location. Staying close to his farm roots, John cut and baled his own hay for the cattle that he raised, had a bountiful vegetable garden and made his own olives and wine. Easter gatherings in their home always featured Margaret's homemade ravioli and John's "own-grown" capretto and chicken on the barbecue. Sunday afternoons meant playing bocce with friends or a card game of Pedro and dancing with his favorite partner, Margaret, at Little Switzerland. John has been a member of the Sons of Italy, Valley of the Moon Lodge No. 1959, since 1955. Ig Vella, a longtime friend, said Mr. Curotto always said what was on his mind. "He was sincere. He wouldn't say anything unless he could back it up," Vella said. "He was one of the old-style Italians," Vella said. "You didn't need a contract. He worked on a handshake. His word was his bond." A neighbor, Jim Parks, said Mr. Curotto was plain-spoken. "He never put on any airs. He was very proud of what he did." John was the beloved husband of Margaret (Fontana) Curotto; the adored father of John Jr. (Connie) and Jo Anne Meroney. He was "Butch" to his loving grandchildren Kevin and John Curotto, Scott and Molly Meroney; great-grandson John Brady Curotto, all who will miss him terribly. John is also survived by his devoted and loving sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Florence and Dino Queirolo; his dear sister-in-law, Elsie Fontana, numerous nieces and nephews, for whom he was "larger than life"; his brothers Carlo, Pasquale, Natale and sister, Margherita, all in Italy, his brother Eddie (Virginia), of San Francisco, and Charlotte Noonan, his wonderfully compassionate "niece." John's passing will also be mourned by his extended family, Carmen, Maria and Kathleen, who were very dear to him. He was predeceased by his parents, Pietro and Maria Curotto, his sister Ida and brother Nicola. A memorial Mass will be offered for Mr. Curotto at noon, Saturday, June 4, at St. Francis Solano Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial contributions be made to the charities of the donor's choice. Arrangements by Duggan's Mission Chapel.