Melvin Bruno La Franchi

Melvin La Franchi passed away peacefully, with his family at his side, on March 27, 2026. His passing - at age 87 - was three days after the 58th wedding anniversary of him and his wife Nancy.
Mel was born in Petaluma, CA on December 31, 1938, to parents Bruno and Eleanor La Franchi. He enjoyed living in Petaluma throughout his youth and graduated from St. Vincent High School in 1956. After graduation, he attended University of San Francisco where he earned a degree in business and became a life-long fan of the USF Dons basketball team.
Mel was an entrepreneur at heart. He purchased his first grocery store fresh out of college - the Food Villa in Fairfax, CA. After owning and operating the Food Villa for several years, he became the owner and operator of the 5th Avenue Food Mart in downtown San Rafael. The Food Mart was a full-service grocery store, where Mel made sure to offer the freshest of produce, as well as select butchered meats. The Food Mart was largely a family-run grocery store, which over the years also included many dedicated local employees; Mel's father, sister, brother-in-law, wife Nancy, and his children and nephews all worked at the Food Mart during the store's 34 years of operation. Mel's daughters, Debbie, Kirsten, and Kim, started working at the Food Mart, stocking shelves by third grade, and running the cash register by sixth grade. It truly was a family-run grocery store with everyone involved.
People from all walks of life were welcomed to the Food Mart, with most known and greeted on a first-name basis. Mel took great pride in providing his clientele with personalized services. It was common for Mel to help them select the perfect wines for their dinner party, as well as ensure they received the freshest seasonal fruits and vegetables resulting from his close coordination with the wholesale providers. It was standard practice for the Food Mart team to carry groceries out to the customer's car, as well as for customers to have personal charge accounts before the days when credit cards were in wide use. Mel ensured that the Food Mart was a place where the clients were known by each employee and each received highly-personalized assistance.
Mel met his loving wife, Nancy, as she was celebrating her 21st Birthday in Palm Springs. The rest was history - Mel and Nancy married two years later in 1968. They spent the next 51 years in San Rafael, where they enjoyed raising their three daughters Debbie, Kirsten, and Kim. Their home in the Dominican community was a special place, where family, friends and neighbors regularly joined for the festive parties and gatherings Mel and Nancy were so enthusiastic about hosting. Mel and Nancy enjoyed their tennis, gardening, bocce, and attending their daughters' high school tennis, basketball, and other activities. But, undeniably, Mel's favorite life-long pastime was tennis. In San Rafael, if Mel was not at the Food Mart working, your best guess would be he was at the Marin Tennis Club.
In 2019, Mel and Nancy resettled to Palm Springs. They joined the beautiful Deauville community, where they forged many deep and meaningful relationships. Mel's passion for gardening and landscape work was ever-present within the nine-acre complex; his morning ritual involved creating new rock gardens, building and tending the plentiful hedge rows, and the never-ending gardening of the substantial grounds. His dedicated handiwork was enjoyed and appreciated by all the residents. He also continued his tennis pursuits while living in Palm Springs, playing well into his 80s.
Mel is survived by his loving wife, Nancy; his caring and committed daughters, Debbie, Kirsten and Kim; his friend and son-in-law Ken; his two very special granddaughters, Elana and Jackie; and, his devoted sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Bruno of Petaluma.
A celebration of life will be held in Palm Springs on May 16. Please send any messages to the family to the following email address: [email protected].
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to prevent and cure prostate cancer: http://www.uclahealth.org/cancer/donate. Please add into the notes: "In Memory of Mel La Franchi; Prostate Cancer RadOnc". Alternatively, to honor Mel's love of integrating the natural environment into our daily lives, you can plant a tree in his memory through www.legacy.com.