Duggans Mission Chapel
Angelo Clement Sangiacomo, winegrower and a founding partner of Sangiacomo Family Vineyards, a third generation family business in Sonoma, Calif., has died on Monday, February 27, 2023. He passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 92.
Born in Sonoma on August 24, 1930 to Italian immigrants Vittorio and Maria Sangiacomo. Angelo graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in 1948. He spent his entire life in Sonoma with the exception of his college years at the University of California at Davis, where he studied viticulture and pomology.
Angelo oversaw the expansion of Sangiacomo Family Vineyards to its current status as one of the largest family-owned, premium winegrowing businesses in California with over 1,600 acres of vineyards in Sonoma County. The family continued to enhance his legacy with the launch of their namesake wine brand in 2016.
The accomplishment of which he was most proud was the transition of the family business to the next generation, just as his parents had done decades before for himself and his three siblings. Today, his three children, Mike, Steve and Mia (Pucci) Sangiacomo run the business.
He credits much of his good fortune to falling in love with his wife, Diane. For over fifty years, she provided undying support, advice and a steady hand behind the scenes while raising their three children.
Family always came first. Throughout his whole life, he mixed family and business freely whether over an early morning cup of coffee or lunch with his siblings -- a practice he did every day for over 85 years -- or teaching his children the nuances of the business. In his later years, his grandchildren were his light that brightened up every day and moment.
Emerging early on as a leader, Angelo was designated in his early 20s by his father as the spokesperson for the family business. This set the pace for a lifetime in the public eye, first in the fruit business, and then later in the wine business after the orchards were replanted to grapevines in the 1980s. Ever humble, he was always quick to point out that he shared an equal say in all major business decisions with his three siblings, Lorraine, Buck and Bob (deceased in 2006).
Angelo was generous by nature, willing to help both personal friends and colleagues as well as give back to the community. He held a wide range of civic positions throughout his lifetime that helped shape the future of both Sonoma Valley and Sonoma County, including serving on the Public Utilities Commission; Taxpayers Association; Ag Conservation Board; Water Board; and as chair of the Sonoma County Grand Jury. He was instrumental in establishing the Carneros and Sonoma Valley viticultural appellations and served on the boards of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance; the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce; the Carneros Quality Alliance; and the Santa Rosa Junior College Viticultural Advisory Committee.
Angelo loved the agricultural life, working alongside his family members, while following his entrepreneurial spirit.
As he reflected on his life towards the end, he was quoted as saying, "If I had the choice, I'd do it all over again the same."
He is survived by his wife, Diane, children Michael Sangiacomo (Whitney), Mia Pucci (Michael), and Steven Sangiacomo (Connie); sister Lorraine Sangiacomo and brother Victor "Buck" Sangiacomo (Susanne); and grandchildren Joseph, Julia, Robert, Andrew and Samuel Sangiacomo; and Michaela and Dominic Pucci.
A rosary to be held at St. Francis Solano Church 469 3rd St W, Sonoma, CA 95476 on Sunday, March 5th at 6 pm. Funeral Mass to be held at St. Francis Solano Church on Monday, March 6th at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials may be made to the charity of their choice.
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The Napa Valley Register
http://www.napanews.com
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