Arthur L. Lafranchi

Arthur L. Lafranchi - Arthur Lafranchi passed away at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on Sunday, October 14, 2012. He was surrounded by loving family when he finally succumbed to heart and kidney failure. Art and his wife, Diane, were high-school sweethearts. They were married for more than 55 years, and have five proud children and twelve loving grandchildren. Art, 76, was born on July 17, 1936 in Petaluma and was raised on a dairy in Nicasio in rural western Marin County. He was the fifth child of Fred and Zelma Lafranchi and is survived by his sister, Estelle Moretti, and his brother, Edward. Brothers Henry and Wilfred have already passed. Art was also a community leader who believed in helping others. He generously supported the Catholic church and a number of charitable organizations. He was the president of the Petaluma Rotary Club in 1975, served as a director and president of the Community Foundation of Sonoma County, was a director and past president of the United Way, and was a member of the board of directors of the Farm Bureau Foundation of Sonoma County. Art was known as â??a man of the land and a vocal advocate for agricultureâ?