Cino (“Gino”) Chegia

October 13, 1935 - September 14, 2020

Cino Chegia, resident of Oakland, passed away on September 14, 2020 at the age of 84 at Summit Medical Center, Oakland. Husband of Josephine (Accinelli) Chegia, who preceded him in death in 2010 after 54 years of marriage. Cino is survived by his four loving children: son John and his wife Susan, of Pleasant Hill, CA; son Joseph and his husband Christoph, of Hong Kong; son Jay and his wife Kathleen Amadio, of Swedesboro, NJ; and son James and his partner Gabriella, of Oakland, CA. He was the beloved Nonno of Christopher and Cory, wife Eugenia Chegia; Andrew and Ryan Chegia; and Alivia and Jac Chegia; and great-grandfather to Damian Chegia. Cino is also survived by his three siblings in Italy: Alberto Chegia of Porto Santo Stefano, Pino Chegia of Santa Marinella and Mara Chegia of Ostia; as well as his dear sister-in-law Madeline Accinelli Petri of Oakland and a great number of nieces, nephews and cousins throughout California and Italy. Cino is also preceded by his in-laws Giobatta and Maria Rebagliati Accinelli, brother-in-law Franco Petri as well as a great many other dear friends from Italy who settled in the Bay Area. Cino himself was born in Porto Ercole and immigrated to Oakland at the age of 18, a young man in search of opportunity and adventure. After supporting himself with a series of jobs, he joined the Oakland Scavenger Company, where he eventually became a partner and retired from after 42 years. He and Josephine settled in the Rockridge district of Oakland and were long-time parishioners of St Augustine’s Church, where they were married in 1956 and where their sons attended school. Cino was very active with the Rockridge Soccer Club, where he was a founding member, coach and referee for many years. He was also very involved in the local Italian-American community, including memberships in the Ligure and Fratellanza Clubs and Branch 223 (St Theresa) of the Italian Catholic Federation, where he could be found in the kitchen and cooking for countless dinner-dances, weddings, charity dinners and other events. He always looked forward to driving his ‘55 Thunderbird convertible in San Francisco’s

Columbus Day parade, with one of the winning pageant contestants waving from the backseat. Determined to get the most out of life, Cino always pursued his passions including poker, horseracing, Juventus, bocce, dancing, surrounding himself with friends, and recounting stories and jokes to any willing audience. He traveled frequently to Italy to stay connected with his extended family there, but was a fiercely proud American, frequently using his favorite expression: “What a Country!” The details of Cino’s adventurous and extraordinary life are too numerous to capture here but can be found in his biography, “Four Dollars and a Dream” Amazon: Four Dollars and a Dream

Special visitation has been arranged for Friday, September 25 from 10am to 2pm at Graham-Hitch Mortuary, 4167 First St., Pleasanton, CA 94566. To allow for distancing and the safety of all, a maximum of 12 visitors will be allowed to enter the chapel at any one time. Please plan accordingly. For more information regarding the visitation, please contact GrahamHitch at 925-837-2500.

Interment will be held by private service on Saturday, September 26 at 11am. Friends and family wishing to attend the interment virtually may join by connecting via Zoom Meeting https://us04web.zoom. us/j/75957847334?pwd=Uj U1VlFYQ1lQdFpuODJXdUh 2NTdaZz09

Meeting ID: 759 5784 7334

In lieu of flowers and to continue Cino’s passion for soccer, the family prefers contributions made to Special Olympics Northern California (https://www. sonc.org) in support of its training, education and competition programs.