John Peter Consiglieri

1917 - 2014

JOHN PETER CONSIGLIERI May 16, 1917-May 13, 2014 John Peter Consiglieri passed from this life at home in San Francisco surrounded by his children on May 13, 2014. John was born in San Francisco on May 16, 1917 to Luigia and Attilio from Liguria, Italy. John married the love of his life, Elaine Lagomarsino, the girl around the corner, on April 26, 1941; they were married for 45 years. John was predeceased by his parents, by his beloved wife Elaine, son Louis Thomas, daughter-in-law Cathy, niece Vicky; in-laws, Louis and Catherine; brother Victor (Evelyn), his sisters, Marie and Tillie (Mario) Tognetti, sisters-in-laws, Florence (Ralph) Lombardo, Genevieve (Al) Scigliano, and Dorothy (Ed) Scheid and many cousins. John is survived by his beloved children, JoAnn (Jim McFadden), Catherine, John (Rebecca), Rosemarie (Tom) Morrissey, Stephanie (Roy) Hendricksen and numerous cousins in California and in Liguria, Italy. John is beloved Nonno to Melissa (Shawn), Juliana (Keary), Natalie (Michael), and Gabriel Trousdale; Giana (Christian), and Giac (Rasha) Consiglieri; Eric (Wendy) and Brian (Kendall) Olsen; and Matthew (Laura), Michael, and David Hendricksen. John had a unique relationship with granddaughter Leslie. John loved babies and young children and was thrilled and blessed by great grandchildren, Dorothy, Maria, Andrew, Chiara, Luca, Isabella, Lia, Victoria, Brayden, Dane, Jesse, and Isadore. John was uncle to Marianne (Paul), Barbara (Jim), Richard (Dori), Edwina, Joe (Sue), Nadine, Al (Marie), Larry (Linda), Robert (Ann), Christine (Frank) and Bernadette (Dave). During World War ll, John supervised the construction of a 100 Octane Oil Refinery, which enabled U.S. planes to refuel on Bahrain Island near the Suez Canal. John was an active member of Corpus Christi Church and served in many capacities at the Parish and School into his 80s. John loved working beside the Salesian Priests and Sisters and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. He and his siblings continued the Annual Celebration to The Madonna Della Guardia Devotion that was begun by the Italian women in his parish in the early '40s. John had great faith in God and lived the life Jesus came to teach: living a life of respect, peace and love through action. Over the years, extraordinary responsibilities fell on his shoulders. He met them with tenacity and fortitude. John enjoyed a 44-year career as an iron worker with J.P. Murphy/Bethlehem Steel and belonged to the San Francisco Steel Workers Union Local #377. John was a working foreman and declined the position of Superintendent in favor of working out in the field with his men. In later years, John enjoyed taking friends and family on tours of the City pointing out his "babies"-the many buildings, hospitals, churches, skyscrapers, and bridges, as well as the BART tube under the San Francisco Bay. John preferred playing sports to watching them, except for watching games played by his children and grandchildren. He was a serious tennis player with his wife Elaine and the Balboa Tennis Club. He pitched fastpitch softball into his late 50s. John coached CYO baseball for his son and son-in-law, always interested in furthering the love of sports. While playing football as a right end at Balboa High School he won All City Honors in 1934 and he was inducted into the Balboa Hall of Fame in 1979. John was given a football scholarship by the great Slip Madigan, coach at St. Mary's College, Moraga. Those were the days of "pigskins" and leather helmets. While John was a well-traveled man, he loved best the city of his birth, San Francisco, where he lived his entire life in the Excelsior District. One of John's proudest achievements was having saved 88 homes in the Excelsior District from being demolished to provide off-street parking for the local merchants. John revitalized the Excelsior District Improvement Association (EDIA) in 1959. To this day, the members of EDIA meet monthly in his basement to further the well-being and safety of the neighborhood. John was known as "Mr. Excelsior." John was a proud and active member of numerous organizations: The Balboa Tennis Club, the Druids, Italian Catholic Federation, Italian American Social Club, Holy Names Society, YMI, and Men's Club at Corpus Christi Church. John's children are grateful to Drs. Lester Jacobson and John Fletcher and his part-time caregiver Carmen for their wonderful care. Family and friends may visit from 6pm - 7pm are invited to attend An Evening of Prayer, Song and Remembering on Friday, May 16, at 7:00 PM and a Mass of Resurrection on Saturday, May 17, at 10:00 AM. Both services will be held at Corpus Christi Church, 62 Santa Rosa Avenue, San Francisco. Interment to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. In lieu of flowers, donations in remembrance of John may be made to the John Consiglieri Football Scholarship, Balboa Alumni, PO Box 31866, San Francisco, CA 94131. Online condolences may be offered at www.vmpandco.com Funeral Arrangements under the direction of Valente Marini Perata & Co. Funeral Directors.