Louis Poletti

Louis John Poletti August 18, 1916 - August 5, 2013 Resident of Hillsborough Beloved and devoted father of Kathy Costaglio (Frank), Paul Poletti (Sue) and Richard Poletti (Shelly). Cherished grandfather of Christina, Michael and David Costaglio, Mary Poletti, John, Natalie, Louis and William Poletti and Alexandria Luba. Lou embraced every day with passion and lived life to the fullest. He touched so many lives with his generosity and kind heart. He truly lived the American Dream! Lou was born in Colma of first generation Italian decent. Growing up, he attended Jefferson Grammar School and High School. After finishing his first year of high school, he went to work at his brother Rick's barbershop on San Pedro Road and at age 17 became the owner from 1934-1941. During WWII, from early 1941 to late 1945, he served in the Merchant Marines throughout the Pacific and had two brief voyages to the East Coast via the Panama Canal. In 1948, he married Natalia "Jean" Cabral and they were blessed with three children. In the early years they lived in a small cottage Lou built in Colma next to the house he grew up in with his mother. In 1956 they moved to San Bruno and in 1967 Lou moved his family to Hillsborough. About a year after his wife's passing on June 2, 2009, four days shy of their 61st wedding anniversary, he moved from his home of 43 years to his current residence in San Mateo. (Perry) "Como, (the singer), isn't the only barber who made good " Lou was a man who singly did more to transform the hills and tidelands of Northern San Mateo County into centers of dynamic industries. He was a real estate broker, developer, insurance man and founder of Industrial Savings and Loan. He began his real estate career in 1952 and established Poletti Realty in 1956, which is now owned by his son, Richard. Lou had continued to have an active role in the real estate business up until his final days. Lou's unparalleled business sense and creative ideas helped make South San Francisco what it is today. He has been honored with countless awards and on December 9, 2009 had a street, Poletti Way, named after him. There are so many major projects that he was involved with, it is difficult to pick out any one, but what started it all was his development of 17 acres of unusable utility land located between South Airport Boulevard and Highway 101. Lou was able to turn this swamp land into the first and only industrial park in town. As a result of that success he was asked to develop and list Produce Avenue and San Mateo Avenue, among many others. Lou was a leader of the South Airport Industrial Park Project, also known as Beacon Street. He was responsible for the development of 55 acres by Utah Construction Company, which had tremendous bearing on the progress that the City of South San Francisco has made since. His company was and continues to be one of the most highly respected, independent industrial real estate brokerages in Northern California. Lou's respect and appreciation for the dignity and potential of each individual has been the hallmark of his service and his legacy to the community. He was an active supporter of the South San Francisco community as well as numerous non-profit organizations. He was passionate about politics on all levels and generously contributed across the board to countless campaigns, local, state and nationwide. Lou and his wife Jean loved to travel with friends and family, visiting his homeland several times and many other beautiful destinations around the world. They were avid thoroughbred horse owners and breeders. They often attended the races to cheer on their horses to the winner's circle, most notably Love Avie. Sharp minded and a genius with numbers, Lou put his talent and passion to good use with great success in the stock market as a favorite hobby. As an avid duck hunter for 65 years he enjoyed many good times with his friends and family. Lou was an amazing storyteller. He captivated his audience not only by recalling details and dates with great accuracy but also by the emotion he expressed while telling the story. Family was most important to Lou and hosting Sunday family dinners was his favorite. When Lou turned 95 his family put his picture and a happy birthday wish on a billboard on Highway 101. It came as no surprise to the locals that Lou's presence in SSF would now and forever be truly larger than life. We will always remember him as a true gentleman, dressed to the nines with perfect white hair, topped off with his favorite fedora. Family and friends are invited to the Rosary on Monday, August 12, 2013 at 7:00pm at Our Lady of Angels and to the Funeral Mass on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at 10:30am, also held at our Lady of Angels, 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Mills Peninsula Hospital Foundation for the Cancer Fund, 1501 Trousdale Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010 in memory of Louis Poletti.