Grandad's death

Ecco l'articolo della scomparsa di mio nonno. Questa è l'originale on line in inglese. A quest'ultimo sono legati alcune consolazioni di vecchi amici della nostra famiglia. Prossimamente  la traduzione in italiano.

Bernard J. Favaro Sr. Barney Favaro, a long-time resident of the Bay Area, passed away peacefully on February 14 at the age of 91, just in time to be reunited with his Jeanne on Valentine's Day. Barney was born in Elk River, Idaho, in June 1920, among the white pine forests that he loved so much, and in which he would later work as a knot bumper, powder monkey, and slash hauler in the Potlatch Lumber Company logging camps. He spent his summers growing up on his grandfather's farm near Coeur d'Alene Lake, milking cows, raking hay, and slaying imaginary dragons behind the barn. He graduated from Lewiston High School in 1938, a decorated Idaho State Debate champion, but with dreams of becoming a forest ranger. He attended the University of Idaho at Moscow, where he developed a lifelong fascination with the lessons of human history. He graduated, Summa Cum Laude, in June 1942, just in time to join in the defense of his country. During World War II he served as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps aboard the USS Yorktown in the Pacific theater. He earned 13 battle stars, including for the campaigns of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Truk Island, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. One of his responsibilities onboard the Yorktown was running the Navy Courts and Boards, from which he developed a love for the clarity and rigor of the legal process. After the war, he was accepted into the Stanford Law School Class of 1949, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Sigma Rho. Early in his Stanford career, Barney asked a beautiful young lady with a red geranium in her hair to dance at a tea social in the Stanford Village. Her name was Jeanne Roberts and she became the love of his life, and wife of 50 years. Upon graduating, Barney first served as Deputy District Attorney of Santa Cruz County, and then moved his young family to Vallejo CA, where he founded what would become the Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti & Heppell Law Firm. Starting in the 1970's, Barney became deeply involved in local, national and international swimming. Among many contributions, he organized the first AAU-sanctioned swim meets in Vallejo, served as Chairman of the National Law & Legislation Committee of the AAU, helped to establish the captive insurance company of US Swimming, and was a founding member of the international swimming (FINA) Doping Panel. A lover of hard work, physical activity and the great outdoors, he could be found swimming laps and hiking the high country trails of Yosemite with his family well into his 80's. Barney approached every facet of his life with curiosity, humility and integrity. He was an example to his children of how to live a life filled with purpose and dignity. He will be missed by his family and all who knew him. He is predeceased by his wife, Jeanne, and his brother, Richard Favaro. He is survived by his six children - Joanna, John, Ken, Jim, Paul and BJ - as well as his 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 12:30 PM on Friday, February 17, at St. Simon Catholic Church, 1860 Grant Road in Los Altos. A reception will follow at the Forum Senior Living Community, 23500 Cristo Rey Drive, Cupertino. The family suggests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to the Yosemite Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the mountain wilderness that Barney so loved.