Joseph E. Giacomini

Mr. Giacomini died of complications from myeloma, his daughter, Susan Giacomini Allan, said.

Born June 27, 1922 in Eureka, Mr. Giacomini was the only of his parents' 11 children to be delivered in a hospital.

"The family joke was, 'Oh, Joe, he was the only one born in the hospital,'" Giacomini Allan said. "But it was only because grandma was there for something else."

In 1942 Mr. Giacomini enlisted in the U.S. Navy, hoping that the move would enable his brothers to stay home and work at the family dairy farm in Humboldt County. The family isn't related to the Marin Giacominis, also known for their dairy farms.

While stationed at a naval airbase in Alameda in 1943, Mr. Giacomini would hitch rides on the San Francisco Chronicle delivery truck to visit his high school sweetheart, Helen Bertocchini.

He even hitched a ride Aug. 14, 1943, the couple's wedding day, his daughter said. The couple remained married more than 65 years until Mrs. Giacomini's death in 2009.

After serving in the Pacific Theater on the USS Natoma Bay, Mr. Giacomini received an honorable discharge in October 1945.

That same year, Mr. Giacomini and his brother, Eugene, launched their own dairy business near Fortuna. Gypsy Guernsey Farms grew significantly over the years and won prizes at state and county fairs.

Mr. Giacomini and his wife didn't have the chance to attend college as young adults, but in 1967 they decided to sell the dairy business and move to Marin County with their children to pursue higher education.

The family settled in Lucas Valley, and Mrs. Giacomini attended Dominican University while her husband attended San Francisco Law School and John F. Kennedy University College of Law, Giacomini Allan said.

While a law student, Mr. Giacomini took a job as a maintenance worker at Paradise Beach County Park in Tiburon to make ends meet. He also got his real estate license and worked at Frank Howard Allen, where he managed the company's Tiburon office for several years.

Mr. Giacomini was sworn into the State Bar of California on his 53rd birthday. For three decades he worked as a trust and estate attorney out of a little office in Tiburon, where the only other worker was a part-time secretary.

Mr. Giacomini often performed pro bono work and always encouraged his friends and members of his large, Italian-Swiss family to follow their dreams, his daughter said. He also believed strongly in education.

"When he worked with people with their will and trust he would say, 'I want you to buy a life insurance policy that will provide for the education of your children and grandchildren,'" Giacomini Allan said, adding, "My dad thought the best of everyone."

Mr. Giacomini had four biological children and adopted a toddler boy not long after his own son's tragic death in a tractor accident at age 14.

He founded the Rotary Club of Tiburon-Belvedere in 1977 and attended nearly every weekly meeting until just before his death.

Both Mr. Giacomini and his eldest daughter survived polio, and he was particularly dedicated to the Rotary's efforts to eradicate the disease.

In 1985 he raised more than $100,000 for the PolioPlus campaign, said Barbara Newhouse, president of the Rotary Club of Tiburon-Belvedere.

"He was the kindest, most gentle, wonderful man you could know," Newhouse said, describing Mr. Giacomini as "inspirational."

"He was just very engaged," she added. "He always believed we could do anything."

Mr. Giacomini is survived by four of his children, Joan Giacomini Helgeson, of San Francisco; Susan Giacomini Allan, of Inverness; Teresa Giacomini, of Oakland; and Mark Giacomini, of Auburn.

His wife, Helen Bertocchini Giacomini, and son Stephen Giacomini preceded him in death.

Other survivors include five siblings, nine grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Services will include a rosary at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Keaton's Mortuary, 1022 E St. in San Rafael and a memorial mass at 10 a.m. Jan. 27 at Most Holy Rosary Chapel, 1 St. Vincent Drive, San Rafael.

The family is asking that donations be made in Mr. Giacomini's name to The Rotary Foundation: PolioPlus, the Rotary Club of Tiburon-Belvedere, P.O. Box 220, Tiburon/Belvedere 94920-0220.