Resident of San Jose
Paride (Perry) Riparbelli was born in the small village of San Colombano near Lucca, Italy on July 22, 1918. When he was about five years old, his father, Umberto (“Pisa”), left Italy for the United States to find a better life for his family. His mother, Alessandra (Menisini), remained in Italy to raise both Paride and his younger brother Aldo with the help of their extended Italian family. Twelve years later the family was reunited when they moved to Lovelock, Nevada where Perry’s father was working as a cook on a cattle ranch.
Only two years later, at the age of 19, he left Lovelock to fend for himself and found work in the small lumber town of McCloud, California. Here he met the love of his life, Pia Barsanti. Upon returning to McCloud after serving in World War II and earning the Purple Heart, they were married on August 29, 1943.
Perry and Pia were married for over 67 years. Their loyal and loving relationship is something to be admired by all. Perry’s love and devotion to his family were second to none. His generosity toward his sons, Jim and David; daughters-in-law, Jean and Marisa; grandchildren, Brian, Kevin, Alana, Laura and Bria; and great-granddaughter, Mia, will never be forgotten. His favorite times were spent surrounded by his family. He showed us all what a true “Nonno” should be like.
In the late forties, Perry joined his brother-in-law Gino Barsanti and his uncle Ugo Stefani in what was to become the Barsanti’s and Riparbelli’s family business: Race Street Fish & Poultry. They worked very hard over the next 40 years to grow the business into a Santa Clara Valley landmark. Gino and Perry had a wonderful partnership that placed trust and friendship first. They always seemed to get along and set a wonderful example for their sons who have been running the business since the early 1980’s. Since then, Perry and Gino continued to work together, along with cousins in the Biagini family, investing in real estate. They were true partners until the end.
Perry always loved to cook. He made some of the most amazing Italian dishes you could ever imagine. Pastas, meats, seafood, it didn’t matter. He was always experimenting, so getting a recipe from him was a problem. Not because he was secretive, but because even he didn’t know exactly what he put in. Nevertheless, he seldom failed to create something truly fantastic. For the past 30 years, he has cooked lunch for the family at the Race Street warehouse. Almost every day Jim, David and Brian, along with Gino, Dan and Mike Barsanti have enjoyed lunch together as a family and as business partners. Perry provided them a relaxed family atmosphere where business could be discussed, but more often they simply solved the world’s problems. Anyone who ever joined them for Perry’s cooking always looked forward to their next invitation.
Ninety-two years is a long time to create memories that will remain forever in the hearts of those who knew Perry. Hopefully we can all call upon those memories to bring us closer to him whenever and wherever we are. Perry, until we meet again…Ciao for now.
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