Donald Parachini

1934 - 2023

Donald Parachini
April 23, 1934 - July 1, 2023
Donald Gene Parachini passed away on July 1, 2023. He was the son of Victor and Elma Parachini of Antioch, CA. Don attended school in Antioch and during high school was on the football, track, and wrestling teams. While growing up he developed a great love of the outdoors hunting ducks and pheasants and fishing in the delta.
His interest in the outdoors led him to enroll at Washington State University in Pullman as a forestry major but eventually he changed to business and economics. He continued to wrestle and was co-captain of the team his senior year. Don had a lifelong love of learning on wide- ranging topics and was an avid reader. He maintained his college friendships and later served as a member of the Board of Governors and Gift Acceptance and Management committee of the WSU Foundation.
Following graduation Don and his father took a lengthy tour of Europe. While there, they made contact with cousins for the first time since WWI. This experience heightened his interest in his Italian heritage and a desire to further expand his Italian language skills. He read many of the Italian classics and the local San Francisco Italian newspaper. He cultivated friends that he could speak with, often over a long meal or a glass of wine in North Beach.
Upon returning from his trip to Europe Don received an invitation from the Army to report for duty at Fort Ord. Don entered as a private but liked the military life so applied and was accepted to the Officer Candidate School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. As a freshly minted lieutenant in the artillery, he was sent back to Fort Ord where he spent much of his time at Hunter Ligget. While he had a bed at the BOQ, he and a friend preferred to live in a Volkswagen Van in the woods. They had wonderful days exploring the vast area of the Santa Lucia mountains. On weekends they would go to the coast for long bike rides and diving for abalone which they cooked on their hibachi right on the beach. While it was a great experience and he made close friends he decided to go in a different direction.
In 1960 he entered Boalt Hall at the University of California in Berkeley to study law. Law school was an intense three years, but he made some lifelong friends that he enjoyed and admired. Don graduated in 1963 and took the Bar Exam in September. The results would not be out until late December so he and his wife, Mary Ann, went to Europe touring and returned in January.
Don's first job was at the Bank of America, San Francisco where he was engaged in business litigation and counselling. In 1967 he went into private practice with Cerf, Robinson & Leland, which is the predecessor of the firm Leland, Parachini, Steinberg, Matzger and Melnick, LLP. He specialized in banking and financial institution regulatory law and solving problems with contracts and business transactions. From 1973 to 1998 he served as General Counsel for the Sumitomo Bank of California and was a Member of their Board of Directors. He practiced law with his best friends and looked forward to going to work every day for 50 years.
Don applied his wisdom and skills at various non-profits he supported. He belonged to Rotary #2 in San Francisco and enjoyed meeting all the foreign Rotarians from around the world that would attend their meetings. He served as a Board Member and Secretary of the SF Rotary Foundation. Don served as a member of the Board of Directors and was a past President of the Italian Community Services Agency in San Francisco. The Agency was formed in 1916 by A.P. Giannini and others to provide English lessons and social services to Italian immigrants. He was a member and Director of the ItaLingua Institute, an Italian language school, and a member of Il Cenacolo, an Italian cultural club in San Francisco. A resident of Piedmont for 52 years. He was a member of the Piedmont Community Church and held various board positions including President. In the early days of the Oakland Museum, he trained and worked as a docent on the Natural Science floor. A strong hiker, he led Sierra Club Highlight backpacking trips for several years sharing his love of the mountains and the high country.
An avid bicycler, Don took each of his children on a bike tour in Italy upon their college graduation. He hiked in the Sierra, Dolomites, around Monte Bianco, and the Haute Route on Mt. Blanc. In the fall he spent time duck hunting with friends near the Sutter Buttes. The majesty of the marsh wildlife revealed when the sun came up or all the sounds in the dark of night never ceased to bring him joy. Don fished for trout in the Sierra but also had angling adventures in Alaska and Africa.
Three of Don's interests come together: gardening, cooking, and wine. He was a vegetable gardener and enjoyed his hours in his garden as well as turning his harvests into fine Italian dishes. Any Italian meal would not be complete without good wine which involved a lifetime of tasting.
Don's extraordinary mind, devotion and gracious presence will be missed by all. He is survived by his wife of 62 years Mary Ann, his son Michael Parachini, daughter- in- law Youngmi, his daughter Sara Aumuller, son-in-law, David as well as his grandchildren Joseph Aumuller, Kathryn Aumuller, Teresa Aumuller, Emma Parachini, Samuel Parachini and Olivia Parachini. In addition, Don is survived by his brother Victor Parachini and his wife Anne and his nephew John Parachini and niece Lesley Parachini-Patten, nieces Susan Biggins and Ann Downey, their families and countless friends.
A memorial service will be held at Piedmont Community Church at 2pm, Friday, August 18. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Trust for Public Land.