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| Michael Ghilarducci, 1989 |
My father-in-law, Michael Joseph Ghilarducci, 66, of Sonoma, California,
passed away at home in his sleep on the morning of Monday, May 5, 2014. The following is his obituary, that will run in the Sonoma Index-Tribune, The Press Democrat, and the Marin Independent Journal on Friday, May 9.
Michael was born on October 31, 1947 in San Francisco,
California to Francesco Ghilarducci and Mara Jean Ghilarducci (née Baker). Michael graduated from Woodside High School in
1965, and San Francisco City College’s Hotel and Restaurant Administration program
in 1967. He married Virginia (“Gia”)
Ghilarducci (née Wade) on April 12, 1969.
Michael’s career in the restaurant business spanned
fifty-five years, beginning with his work in L’Auberge in Redwood City and his
father’s restaurant Villa d’Este in Los Altos.
Michael opened his first restaurant, “Chez Joseph” on Jack London Square
in Oakland in 1970, followed by “Columbus Street” in Los Altos, and “Liaison”
in Palo Alto.
On December 9, 1985, Michael and Gia purchased Sonoma’s
historic Giacomo Mazza House, taking over a business long known locally as the
“Depot Hotel Restaurant.” Michael and Gia converted the upstairs floor of the
Mazza House into their family home, where they proceeded to raise their two
children, Gianna Ghilarducci Kelly and Antonio Francesco Ghilarducci.
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Michael and Gia Ghilarducci
Cooking Class, Depot Hotel Restaurant Kitchen, 2013
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In 1987, Michael and Gia began teaching cooking classes in
the Depot Hotel Restaurant’s kitchen. The courses proved popular and
successful; in 2001, Michael and Gia began leading groups of their students
through Europe, teaching classes linked to the locations visited. The curriculum included stays in Provence,
Tuscany, Argentina, and Umbria,
and along the coast of the Mediterranean on board Crystal Cruise Lines. In the
summer of 2002, one particularly memorable set of classes were taught jointly
by Michael and Jacques Pépin in
a weeklong series at Château de Villette, in Condécourt north of Paris.
In December of 2000, Michael and Gia purchased a vineyard
property, located north of Kelseyville, California. The Ghilarduccis began producing Cabernet Sauvignon
and Merlot under the Wildhurst label in 2003, and after development of an
additional portion of the property, in 2007, their own Fumé Blanc. Production from the vineyards continues
today, now under the family’s own label.
In 2008, after similar training to Michael’s at San
Francisco City College, and work at La Folie, the French Laundry, and Sonoma’s
El Dorado Kitchen, Michael’s son Antonio joined the family’s restaurant as head
chef. Michael thereupon became chef-proprietor, working alongside his son in
the kitchen.
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| Wedding, Gianna Ghilarducci Kelly and John Kelly Depot Hotel Restaurant March 24, 2002. |
In total, Michael operated the Depot Hotel Restaurant with
his family for 1,482 weeks, during which time he typically supervised ordering,
menu preparation, and house operations.
A week seldom went by without Michael pounding veal in the kitchen on a
Wednesday morning, negotiating with wine salesmen at the bar at midday, or
visiting tables and greeting guests at the door.
Michael was welcoming, gentle and affable; possessed of a
deep, genuine laugh and a marvelous sense of mirth, yet also a seriousness and
gravity as occasions called for. The survivor of the early and unfortunate
passings of his own parents, Michael’s response was to develop an irreverent
sense of humor, an abiding sympathy for any and all underdogs, and a near
comical repartee with his wife Gia that brought tears of laughter to friends,
staff, and family alike. He was an avid
amateur sailor and boater, and a lifelong fan of Formula One and the San
Francisco 49ers. He thought most wine
should be talked over, not about, that the best deterrent to bad driving would be
a sharp metal spike in the center of every steering wheel, and that the speed
limit should be waived for those, such as himself, capable of demonstrating
superior skill in operating an automobile.
He was a decent shot but a better boxer; a lead blocker for O.J. Simpson
on the City College football team; a good bocce player but hopeless with
computers. He was fond of caffè lattes
in the morning and spumoni at night; could impersonate a rabbit for
his grandchildren with nothing more than a napkin; and would, when pressed, demonstrate
a remarkable ability to impersonate Donald Duck.
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Michael Ghilarducci with first grandchild, Siena Kelly
Depot Hotel Restaurant, January 31, 2008.
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Michael is survived by his wife of 45 years, Virginia Wade
Ghilarducci; his daughter Gianna Ghilarducci Kelly (John Alexander Kelly), his
son Antonio Francesco Ghilarducci (Sarah Duran Ghilarducci), and his four
grandchildren, Siena Grace Kelly, Allegra Elizabeth Kelly, Lucca Emerson
Ghilarducci, and Zoey Emiliana Ghilarducci; He is also survived by his four younger
brothers, Vincent, Robert, Nicholas and Gregorio, and his two younger sisters,
Antoinette Emerick and Victoria Dockstaeder.
The family thanks Duggan’s Mission Chapel in Sonoma for all
their assistance. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation
instead be made in Michael’s honor to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box
758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675 (http://tinyurl.com/mikeghilarducci).