Francesco Licata

Francesco Licata

Francesco was born in Agrigento, Italy (Sicily) on February 6, 1948. Franco was the oldest child of Salvatore Licata and Rosalia Iacono, and grew up alongside his younger siblings Giuseppe, Emilia, and Carmela. Franco spent his youth traveling and working around the world before he met his future wife, Liliana Giannone, while working on a cruise ship. After falling in love, Franco moved to San Francisco, and he and Liliana were married on September 17, 1978 at St. Peter and Paul church in North Beach. In 1979, Franco and Liliana started their family with the birth of their first daughter, Anna-Maria. Shortly after, their second daughter, Daniela, was born followed by their third daughter, Gabriella. After living in San Francisco for 9 years, Franco and his family moved to Marin County to focus on opening Fino Ristorante (Franco’s 4th child!) in Petaluma. Franco loved his restaurant, and more importantly, his customers, who have followed him throughout his 56-year long career. Franco spent the last 15 years of his career working for Dennis and Malena Hernandez, owners of Cucina Paradiso. He truly enjoyed working in the Petaluma community and received an award for Serviceperson of the Year in 2009, voted by the citizens of Petaluma. He was so very proud of this award, and so was his family and Cucina community. His family lovingly called him “Mr. Petaluma” and they beamed with pride every time they saw him in action at the restaurant. Franco was always known for his incredible work ethic, and he truly was the standard of excellence, professionalism, and traditional Italian food service. As passionate as Franco was about his work, he was even more passionate about his family. He loved to be at home, cooking with Liliana for his family, including a regular food delivery service to all 3 of his daughters when they were sick, studying, or on maternity leave. He also loved to work on his yard, watch soccer, and go on long walks with his family.  His recent pride and joy were his three grandsons, Roman (7), Nico (3), and William (1), whohe loved to play with and teach how to make pizza and gnocchi. He was a father to his two son-in-laws, Mike and Dave, and a son to his in-laws, Italo and Linda Giannone. Franco was always the first to help a family member or friend and would wait to have dinner with whoever arrived late. He was a youthful and hopeful spirit, and he woke up seizing every day with a big smile on his face. He happiness radiated to everyone around him. Franco had the innate ability to make everyone feel special, and his legacy will continue to do so. Franco is survived by his loving wife, Liliana, and their children, Anna-Maria Coombs (Dave, grandson William Francesco), Daniela Imahara (Mike, and grandsons Roman and Nico), and Gabriella, his mother Rosalia, brother Giuseppe (Alfonsina and niece Serena), sister Emilia (Angelo Rizzuto and niece Laura and nephew Giuseppe), and sister Dr. Carmela Licata, along with numerous other relatives and friends here and in Italy. The funeral service will be held at Saint Vincent de Paul Church in Petaluma at 11:00am on Wednesday, October 16, followed by a reception at Cucina Paradiso in downtown Petaluma. A special thank you to all the doctors and nurses who have cared for Franco at Marin Cancer Care, Novato Community Hospital, and Marin General Hospital, especially our longtime family doctor and friend, Dr. Timothy Murphy, and his oncologist, Dr. Barbara Galligan. Anyone wishing to make a donation to advance research in order to make the future better for people fighting colorectal cancer should direct them to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance: www.ccalliance.org