Richard Mario Bertolucci

1929 - 2021

Richard Mario Bertolucci
February 20, 1929 - October 12, 2021
Sacramento, California - Richard Mario ("Dick") Bertolucci was born on February 20, 1929, in Sacramento, California. He was the only child of loving parents Mario and Mary Bertolucci, and he was the center of their world.
His father was a car mechanic, and shared his passion for mechanics with Dick at an early age. Dick spent his childhood years building model airplanes, and competed in flying competitions. He gained further knowledge in model airplanes at his first job at 12 years old working at a model airplane store on K Street, where he would ride his bike every day after school.
Dick saved nearly every penny from that job, throwing his pay in his dresser drawer in his bedroom shared with his northern Italian grandmother Nonna Angelina. At the age of thirteen, with permission from his father, he bought his first car, a 1933 Chevy roadster that he spotted at a used car lot in downtown Sacramento for $125. The first thing he and his father did was to change out the motor for something bigger, thus starting his passion for drag racing. This was the first of many car projects that Dick would undertake in his lifetime.
Dick went to Sacramento High School where he graduated in 1947. The following year on August 8, 1948, Dick married the love of his life Beverly June Osborne (Bev) at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in North Sacramento. Although Bev was only 17 and he 19 at the time, together they shared nearly 72 years of marriage, until Bev's passing in 2020.
Dick was very proud of his country, always calling America "the best country in the world". He enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves after graduating from Sac High. He served for nearly six years, spending his weekends training other young men in his expertise of welding, a skill in short supply in those days. He served at the U.S. Navy Reserve Training Facility near the Sacramento River and Broadway, during the early 1950s.
Dick and Bev started their soon-to-be large family in 1953, and soon became the proud parents of five daughters and one son. He enjoyed family time in the pool, Easter Egg Hunts at the Dante Club, coaching little league, building and racing hillclimb motorcycles, racing boats and water skiing with the family on Lake Tahoe and Folsom Lake in the boat he built, the 'Oh Boy!'. He was very active for years with the Sacramento Valley Region of the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America, and loved to travel the country showing his cars, often winning 'Best of Show' and 'People's Choice' with his most recently restored classic beauty. In 1980, Dick returned to the vintage drags racetrack in the 1980s with his custom built vintage dragster, the 'X-100'. He set out to hold the world record in the class he loved most – Inline six cylinder. He raced well into his 80's, always wanting to go faster.
The Founding of Bertolucci's Body & Fender Shop
In 1948 when Dick and Bev came home from their honeymoon, they found in their driveway a friend's 1941 Chevy, who offered him $75 to do a full custom job on his car. And so it began! Dick started customizing cars for his friends in his parent's garage on U Street in Sacramento. After the first six months of work, the neighbors started to complain of the noise and activity, so he rented a 2-car garage space at 21st and Broadway. He worked out of this location for 2 ½ years doing specialty customizing and painting. This is where he built the car that launched his notoriety in the custom car world – the 1940 Bud Ohanesian Mercury, known to be one of the finest customs in the world.
Due to Dick's growing reputation for outstanding quality work, the business quickly outgrew the location. He then moved to a 4-car garage at 65th and Folsom. Here, his reputation and demand for his customization and paint quality business grew further, and he hired his first employee. It wasn't long before the demand for his business once again outgrew that location. It was at this time that Dick moved his business into the more formal body shop location on 34th Street where the business started changing to auto collision repair. In 1957, Dick bought the location, and in 1959 he added a 4,800 square foot tilt-up paint shop. Although primarily doing collision repair, Dick still continued to customize cars for the California's Autorama. By this time, Bertolucci's Body & Fender Shop had earned the fine reputation as being the best shop in Sacramento for a custom paint job.
In 1971, Dick purchased the 2-acre city block around the corner, at 33rd and Stockton Boulevard. It is at this location that in 1979, Dick opened up the great capacity shop known by the greater Sacramento area residents today, continuing to use the previous 34th street location for additional body and paint work as needed. Today, over 73 years later, the Bertolucci Family continues to employ the best quality paint and body technicians around, keeping Dick's dream alive.
Throughout his life, Dick was honored regularly for his contributions to the car-building world. And in recent decades, Dick Bertolucci has become legendary in custom car circles. He was one of the original founding members of the Capitol Auto Club (now known as the Thunderbolts Capital Auto Club), which is recognized as the oldest, continuously-meeting street rod club in the country. Dick, along with the other Capital Auto Club, started what has become the Sacramento Autorama in 1950. The Sacramento Autorama is the second longest running indoor car show in the world, and showcases the best hot rods, custom cars, and motorcycles seen anywhere.
In late 1999, the Sacramento Autorama named a new award the "Dick Bertolucci Automotive Excellence" award, to any entrant of a 1972 or older hot rod or custom car that meets Dick's personal criteria for assembly, fit, finish, and detail. The first recipient was named in 2000, and this yearly Autorama award continues to this day. On February 6, 2000, Dick was inducted into the Sacramento Autorama Legends Hall of Fame. Dick was also the recipient of the 2009 Sacramento Autorama Builder of the Year Award. And in 2020, Dick received the honor of being named the "Builder of the Decade" at the annual Sacramento Autorama.
Dick was also honored as a "Hot Rod Hero" at the Good-Guys Rod & Custom Association Southwest Nationals event held at the renowned Infineon Raceway, in Sonoma, California in May of 2005. Dick was also inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) Hall of Fame in Pomona, California, in January 2009, as an "outstanding pioneer in the creative car building sport".
In 2010, Dick was honored to be a guest of the Sacramento Living Library series, offered by Time Tested Books in Sacramento, during which he spoke about the early days of Sacramento's 'Kustom' and racing auto scene.
Over the years, Dick's story of his custom car work and hot rod roots have been featured in countless magazines. Some examples include Rod & Custom (October 1989 issue), Cruisin' News (November 1999), and Rodder's Journal (Number Seventy One).
Dick passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of October 12th at 92 years old. He was preceded in death by his lifelong love Beverly, who passed away in 2020. He was also preceded in death by mother Mary, and father Mario.
He is survived by his six children Terri (Ed Parra), Tina (John Hamrick II), Vince Bertolucci, Tami Brousseau (Steve Schuler), Trudi (Ken Balestreri), and Tracy (Phil Balestreri), grandchildren Angela, Michael, Lisa, John III, Brittany, Nicholas, Loni, Ryan, Holly, Donald, Joseph, Jennifer, Christy, Gannon, Skye, Danielle, Anthony, Molly, Mary and Samuel, and great grandchildren Jamie and Emery. He is also survived by his close in-laws Carlo and Sharon Taylor, and brothers-in-law Jim, Bob, and Mike Osborne.
Funeral services will be held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church at 10:00 am on November 2, located at 3235 Arden Way, Sacramento. A Celebration of Dick's Life will immediately follow the service. For more information, please email info@bertoluccis.com for location and details.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church of Sacramento, California, or to The Shriners Hospital for Children – Northern California.