Nick Franceschine, Jr.

Nick Franceschine died July 19, 2017, at the age of 85 in Kenwood, CA.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Nick and Ora Franceschine; his first wife, Anne (Ready) Franceschine; his second wife, Lenny (Ruygt) Franceschine; his sister and brother-in-law, Harry and Ethel York; his grandson, Troy Bowen; his great-grandson, Slade Winter; and his father-in-law, Louis Ruygt.  He is survived by his eight children: Nick (Christine) Franceschine, Bill (Patricia) Franceschine, Kat (Allen) Kirk, David Franceschine, Mary (Hal) Petty, Corrine (Mark) Sutliff, Kurt (Jennifer) Franceschine, and Teresa (Robert) Elwood; by 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren; his mother-in-law, Helen Ruygt, and the Ruygt family; his sister-in-law, Sally Ready; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Nick was born May 26, 1932 in Des Moines, Iowa.  In the late 1930’s, his family moved to South Gate in southern California, where he grew up.  After graduating from South Gate High School, he began working for Pacific Telephone as a lineman, climbing telephone poles.  He served two years in the US Army, performing the same work for Uncle Sam as he did in civilian life, stringing phone lines around the vast Army base.  After his discharge, he resumed work for the phone company.

In 1955, he married Anne Ready, and the newlyweds moved to La Mirada, CA to begin raising a family.  In 1963, Nick transferred to the Santa Rosa office of the phone company, and he and Anne and their five children moved north to beautiful Sonoma County.  In the years that followed, three more children were born into this family.

In 1972, Nick and Anne took their family on a memorable 5-week travelling vacation to Washington, Philadelphia and other East Coast cities.  The family enjoyed camping and took many vacations in the California redwoods.   They also enjoyed occasional trips to Disneyland, and visiting relatives in Southern California and other places.  In 1995, Nick and Anne spent a happy vacation in Maui.

During his long career with the phone company, Nick had many different roles.  Among these, he was an inspector who travelled throughout Northern California; an instructor who trained other employees in the company’s software and systems; and a mid-level manager, responsible for hiring and deployment of many personnel.  In 1984, after more than 30 years with the company, he elected early retirement, just ahead of the massive break-up of AT&T.

During his “retirement” years, Nick held numerous jobs.  He managed a retirement home in Marysville for two years.  He ran a gas station, and drove a school bus.  Nick and Anne bought a large home in Windsor, and for several years ran a home for developmentally disabled children and adults.

Throughout his life, Nick was a devout Catholic, attending Mass regularly.  He was an active member of Saint Rose Catholic Church in Santa Rosa, serving as a lector and Eucharistic minister.  Nick was active in the Knights of Columbus, a member of Santa Rosa Council 1324 for more than 50 years, and served in many different offices and committees during that time.  He was a member of the Hanna Assembly of the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree, and proudly served in the Color Corps.  He was also a member of the Italian Catholic Federation.  For many years, he drove shut-ins and handicapped people to the monthly Handicapables meetings in Santa Rosa.  Nick also served as Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 31 in Santa Rosa, and was a frequent volunteer at Kaiser Hospital.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Rose Church in Santa Rosa.  The family wishes to thank the wonderful dedicated people at Hill House in Kenwood for the loving care he received for the last 4 ½ years.