Con Joseph Giacomazzi
(October 23, 1939 – June 20, 2023)

After numerous health challenges over the last several years, Con Giacomazzi took his last breath on the morning of June 20, 2023, and passed away peacefully to be with our Lord.

Con was born on October 23, 1939, in Salinas, California. As an only child, Con often recounted how his path to adulthood occurred very early in life, especially after the death of his father, Con J. Giacomazzi, Senior, who was Soledad's Justice of the Peace and Soledad Bee newspaper editor. Throughout his childhood, Con worked with adults–first at the Soledad bakery, helping to frost donuts. He'd also help with local dances for the wives of soldiers by punching tickets at the front desk at the elementary school where the dances were held. He also worked at the local Union 76 station offering full service to cars passing by on Highway 101 through Soledad.

From 1954 to 1957, Con attended–and later graduated from–Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, then attended Hartnell Junior College in Salinas from 1957 to 1959. But his life would change forever when he decided to join the U.S. Army in 1960. At age 21, Con was given orders to check out of his base in Hanford, Washington, and fly to the rebuilt city of Wuerzburg, Germany. There, he met his future wife Monika, whom the U.S. Army hired as a German–English translator. After a relatively short courtship, Con and Monika married on August 14, 1962, and began their life together.

Con was honorably discharged from the Army in early 1963, and the newlyweds decided to move across the Atlantic, but with a hiccup along the way. Monika, pregnant with Conrad at the time, flew into New York, timing her trip to coincide with the arrival of Con's ship. But inclement weather in the Eastern U.S. prevented Con's ship from docking, and Monika spent the first three days of her introduction to America alone, waiting for word of the ship's docking.

Con and Monika eventually spent five wonderful days in the big city of New York, eating $1.99 steak dinners and taking in the symbols of American freedom before boarding a train, which made its way through America's heartland, and eventually to their home in the Salinas Valley, just inland from California's magnificent central coast. Over the years, Con told this story many times, and his kids and grandkids would always listen intently as if hearing it for the very first time!

After Conrad and Andrew's birth, the young family moved to southern California, first to Saugus, where Erika was born, then El Toro and Mission Viejo, where Jennifer was born. Con had numerous "careers" beyond the U.S. Army. For a short time, he was a correctional officer at Soledad Prison, a loan manager/broker at multiple financial institutions in northern and southern California (so many that Con often joked he couldn't hold a job!), and finally in his early retirement, a bus driver, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Even though Con was an only child, often describing himself as "very shy," he truly was a "people person" who simply enjoyed being around others, especially his close friends and family. He was an avid bowler who was no stranger to Friday night leagues with his close friends, an avid tennis player who could be found at the El Toro High School tennis courts on Saturday and Sunday mornings, a high school baseball umpire, and a coach to Jennifer's softball teams. He also never shied away from talking with his family about the latest San Francisco Giants baseball or Boise State football game!

Con loved to travel–whether great distances back to Europe to see family in Germany or in the Maggia Valley near Locarno, Switzerland, where the Giacomazzi's emigrated from–or shorter distances for family reunions in Las Vegas or Reno, "togetherness" was so important for Con. It was on frequent Vegas trips where Con was truly in his element, treating the family to comped hotel rooms and dinners, as well as all the stories of how he "almost hit" another royal flush on video poker! And on those rare occasions when he actually hit a big jackpot, his enthusiasm was contagious, and the stories were memorable! The entire family will truly miss the gambling adventures with Con.

Con will be remembered for his love of his family, including his extended family in the Bay area and in Germany, his pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren, his yearning to keep the history of the Giacomazzi name alive and well, and for his passion in stock trading, 25 cent gambling, and professional sports, especially his Bay area and Boise State teams.

Con was preceded in death by his father and mother, Con J. Giacomazzi and Irene Leoni, and by his wife of 47 years, Monika Giacomazzi. He is survived by his four children, Conrad (Jackie), Andrew, Erika (Jim), and Jennifer, along with his seven grandchildren, Morgan (Benton), Sydney, Matthew, Christina, Drew, Olivia, and Lucas, and two great-grandchildren, Scarlett and Davy.

When Monika passed away in 2009, Con's last words to her were, "see you again in a minute." There's no one happier than Con now that the minute has come and gone.