Cyril Peletz

1919 - 2018

Cyril Morton Peletz

May 28, 1919 – June 27, 2018

Cyril Morton Peletz, a prominent Bay Area civil engineer and general contractor, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, in his beloved San Francisco on June 27, 2018, at the age of 99. Cy, as he was known to his friends, is survived by thirteen immediate family members spanning three generations: his three children -- Nan Peletz, Michael G. Peletz, and Steven D. Peletz; his eight grandchildren -- Zachary A. Peletz, Alexander S. Peletz, Sara M. Peletz, David Peletz, Addie H. McClintock, Will D. Hearst, and Emma Wilson; and his two great granddaughters -- Phoebe H. McClintock and Piper McClintock. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and other relatives. A daughter, Amanda L. Peletz, predeceased Cy, as did his three siblings, Harold (Hal), Marvin (Marcy), and Marie (Merlie).
Cy was born in Stockton, California on May 28, 1919 to Louis Simon Peletz (1883-1954) and Rose Davidson (nee Rachel Kantorowitz) Peletz (1887-1971), who emigrated from Russia along with many other Jews fleeing the Pogroms during the early years of the 20th century. His father Louis was a cabinet-maker and carpenter turned general contractor who instilled in all of his children a strong sense of honesty, integrity, and hard work. "His word was his bond", as Cy used to say, sometimes adding that he too lived by this motto. His mother Rose was a hardworking, "no-nonsense" kind of person who embraced Unitarianism and was an early advocate of health food.
Cy attended Fremont Grammar School and Victory Grammar School in Stockton before enrolling at Stockton High School, where he played baseball, mainly as a catcher. He was tempted to become a baker, and planned on attending a baker's school in Chicago, because he had been told that upon graduating he could make $150 a month (a sizeable income during the Depression). His biology teacher, who had taken note of young Cyril's intellectual potential, encouraged him to attend college instead; and Cy enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 1937, where he majored in civil engineering. Much of the time he was in college, he lived in Bowles Hall. At Berkeley, and especially at Bowles, he met a number of people who became life-long friends. One of them, Sty Gasperetti, later came to work for Cy as Vice-President of C.M. Peletz Co., which was founded around 1952, is still in operation, and has been run since 2002 by David Markham who had worked for Cy for sixteen years, five as Vice President (a position formerly held by Cy's son Steven). At Berkeley, Cy was also elected to a number of academic honor societies, most notably Phi Beta Kappa.
Cy participated in Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) during his college years, graduated from UC, Berkeley with a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering in 1941, and went into the army shortly after graduation as a Second Lieutenant. After additional training in Fort Bragg, NC, and elsewhere, he was shipped to the South Seas. He spent most of the war overseeing anti-aircraft artillery units in New Caledonia, the Hebrides, Guadalcanal, and the Admiralty Islands; during this time he attained the rank of Major.
When the war was over, Cy returned to California and joined the contracting firm of Parker, Steffens, and Pierce, before teaming up with architect John Kelly around 1948 to form Kelley and Peletz Design and Construction. A few years later he worked briefly for homebuilder Andy Oddstad, and then branched out on his own to form C.M. Peletz Co, which under Cy's guidance specialized in luxury custom homes, medical buildings, hospitals, and various office and retail projects, mostly in Hillsborough (where Cy and his family lived for many years), Burlingame, San Francisco, and elsewhere in the Bay Area, but also in Hawaii and other locales. His better known projects include the Hermitage Apartments on Russian Hill, the French Hospital (now the French Campus of Kaiser Permanente) on Geary St., and the Spanish Bay Townhouse Project in Pebble Beach.
In addition to his professional interests, he greatly enjoyed the simpler things in life: crossword puzzles; books dealing with world leaders; a good cigar; a fine meal (he loved Vanessi's and Jack's, long-time San Francisco landmarks, as well as Gary Danko's); a carefully crafted macchiato; ice cream from Swenson's; See's candy; watching the Golden State Warriors on television; and spending time with his children, grandchildren, and friends. He also loved to travel. In 1962 he took his family for an extended trip to Europe, which instilled in all his children a life-long love of travel and cultural exploration. And for more than thirty years he made annual pilgrimages to Europe, mostly to Paris and other parts of France, sometimes to Italy. He also made frequent trips to New York City and Hawaii.
His first marriage, to Shirley A. Gates, the mother of his four children, ended in divorce, as did his second marriage, to Roma M. Trimboli Curran.
He felt particularly blessed that he had been good friends with Phyllis K. Friedman for some seventy years, and that in recent years Edmundo Merida Rojas and Sarah Russo provided tremendous care and friendship.
Even when Cy's declining health imposed serious limitations on his mobility, he remained positive and upbeat, alert, and quick to make a joke. His self-deprecating wit, infectious laugh, generosity, and joie de vivre will be greatly missed and long remembered.
Private services for family members and friends will be held at a future date, yet to be determined.