A memorial service is set for Monday, Feb. 16, for longtime Woodside resident Richard Delucchi, a father and husband, a builder, an equestrian, a family chef and a hunter. His long life ended at home in the company of his daughter, Dorine Secrest, and a caregiver on Friday, Feb. 6. Mr. Delucchi was 105.
The service is set for 7 p.m. at the Redwood Chapel at 847 Woodside Road in Redwood City. Other services are being planned but were not firm at publication time.
"He was always busy," Ms. Secrest told the Almanac. "He never wanted to retire." Mr. Delucchi had been in the news in October regarding his investment in a new store, Delucchi's Market, in the Marsh Manor Shopping Center in Redwood City.
He got off to an early start, having established himself as a general contractor in San Francisco at the age of 16. During World War II, he built barracks in Wendover, Utah. After the war, he built homes and commercial buildings on the Peninsula, including Marsh Manor in the mid-1950s.
He patrolled the West Coast on horseback during the war and was a founding member of the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County in 1947. He also played a major role in the purchase of the group's headquarters on Kings Mountain Road and was named the Patrol's Outstanding Horseperson-Citizen of the year in 2005.
With his wife Blanche Delucchi (who died in 2004), they were "great cooks," their daughters said. Among the creatures Mr. Delucchi hunted: clams, ducks, pheasants, deer, elk and moose.
"His zest for life and his strong determination for whatever he is doing has served him well," Ms. Secrest said.
Mr. Delucchi is survived by his daughters: Claudette Vogel of Concord, Ms. Secrest of Portola Valley, and Susan Sanchez of Los Altos.
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on Feb 10, 2015 at 2:08 pm
on Feb 10, 2015 at 2:08 pm
He is one the last of the TRUE ITALIAN GENERATION. I always thought we were related in some way, my maternal grandfather was a DELUCCHI, and they came from the same region in ITALY,I went to SEQUOIA with one of his daughters, CLADETTE, and we think of ourselves as long lost cousins. This man was truly a marvel, to live the life he lived right up to the last couple of months was remarkable. From what I have heard of him, he loved life and lived it to the fullest. His legend will live on through his family, and now the DELUCCHI MARKET, which he was blessed to see open. God BLESS HIM.