John Joseph Futini Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Born on July 12, 1920, in Salinas, California to Giuseppi and Pierina Futini, John Joseph Futini passed away at age 98 on September 2, 2018 in Concord, California. He was one of the last remaining World War II Veterans. A graduate of Salinas High School in 1939, he was one of only a few to learn to type. As a young man he raised Black Angus steers for many years for 4H. As an early PGE employee, he helped support his family during the Great Depression. He enlisted in the US Army in 1941 where he honorably served as a supply truck driver and his highly sought after typing skills were utilized in communications. As a Corporal he was assigned to a P-38 aircraft squadron in the 13th Army Air Corps Fighter Command, Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1945. He used to say when asked if he was a pilot, “I flew a typewriter.” He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and was a designated sharpshooter. In 1948 he married the love of his life, Melba Lemos of Benicia and they had just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this year. They lived in Vallejo with their three children before moving to Napa in 1965. During his life John supported his family as an 18-wheeler truck driver, but he was also an accomplished self-taught artist and enjoyed landscaping their homes from scratch. His love of art and landscaping led to his becoming a professional landscape architect and nursery department manager. Into his 80’s he was still gardening and was hired to maintain the grounds of many stately Napa homes and businesses. His business card read “Rosarian and Horticulturist.” He knew all the Latin names of all trees, plants, and flowers by memorizing a complete guide to horticulture. The bookshelves in his office were filled with books about gardening. In his 90’s he discovered a new type of rose that had not yet been documented as he worked with the roses in their backyard. He worked with the National Registry of Roses for years and received confirmation that in fact, this rose was not in the registry, it was a new type of rose. He named this rose after his wife, calling it the Melba Lemos rose, a pretty, pink, fragrant blossom. John had so many accomplishments in his lifetime and was fiercely independent and proud of it. At his last DMV license renewal review at age 95, he had perfect vision and scored a perfect 100 on the written test. John was always civic-minded, attending many public meetings and ran for Napa County Board of Supervisors in 1976. He also led the restoration of the historic Old Calvary Cemetery in Salinas, which was a ten-year project. He loved adventure and traveled widely with his family to many places in the US and abroad including Washington DC for the grand opening of the WWII Memorial, the eastern United States and numerous locales in the West including Alaska. His favorite place by far was the Grand Canyon. He hiked down to the bottom of the canyon three times- twice with his family and once in 1987 at the age of 67 rim-to-rim by himself. Internationally he traveled with his family to British Columbia, Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Monaco, and the Azores, the home of Melba’s family. One of his hobbies was photography and his photographs adorn the walls of their home in Napa. He was a devoted family man who spent all his time with his family when he wasn’t working. A strong believer in education, he interested his three children to attend and graduate from college. He is survived by his wife Melba, son John S. Futini (Jaime), daughters Norma Saunders (Royce) and Andrea Murphy (Greg), his sister Toni Mitchell, grandsons Greg Andrew Murphy and Trevor John Murphy, numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins. He was predeceased by his sisters Elena Bass and Mary Boekenoogen. Donations in lieu of flowers can be sent to the Old Calvary Cemetery Restoration Fund at PO Box 2048, Monterey, CA 93942. A memorial service celebrating John’s life will be held at Claffey and Rota Funeral Home, 1975 Main St, Napa, on Wednesday September 19th at 1pm with light refreshments from 2pm to 3pm. John will be laid to rest with military honors at a private burial at the Sacramento Valley National Veteran’s Cemetery in Dixon, CA.

John Joseph Futini

July 12, 1920 - September 2, 2018

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John Joseph Futini

July 12, 1920 - September 2, 2018

Obituary Notification

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