Minnie Claire Campos
Aug 23, 1923-July 21, 2017
Minnie Campos grew up among the city’s Italian community, on Telegraph Hill ten years before there was a Coit Tower and goats still roamed the hillside. She was born into a poor but hardworking family that made a point of dressing for Sunday dinner every week, with a strict father who sent her to secretarial school instead of allowing her to accept the offer from her high school English teacher to pay her college tuition.
But Minnie did not allow that to stop her from pursuing an intellectual life. She enjoyed her secretarial jobs and was a life long learner, reading three newspapers a day until the final weeks of her life and always with a book in her hand. She was a scintillating conversationalist, well versed in current events and on the cutting edge of social issues like reproductive rights, gay marriage, and even organic food. She learned the game of bridge and started a bridge club in the Marina, where every Tuesday the ladies would bid and laugh from 10 until 3.
She met both of her husbands while pursuing her love of ballroom dancing. With her first husband, Ernie Gabiati, she built their family business: Gallo Salame. Later in life, at a ballroom dancing class, Minnie met the love of her life, Arthur Campos. Together, they spent the next 35 years travelling to Minnie’s favorite places: Yosemite, Tahoe, and Maui. Minnie’s generosity allowed her to share these experiences with three generations of her family, and her grandchildren learned to swim with sea turtles in Hawaii. Minnie was ever thoughtful, and she needed to only suspect that a loved one was sad, and she would be sending them a gorgeous bouquet, scented lotions or delicious treats.
In many ways, Minnie enjoyed the last few months of her life on hospice, lounging in her elegant apartment with a compassionate caregiver, visited daily by friends and family, and surrounded by beautiful flowers.
Minnie is predeceased by both husbands and her beloved sister, Mary Cordi. She is survived by her son and daughter in law, Ernie and Jeanne Gabiati, and their three children, Mario, Gianna and Dante; her daughter, Gail Gabiati and son in law, Tom Borden, and their three children, Greg, Julia and Ian; and her beautiful nieces, Cathi, Christina, and Jody Cordi and Joell Azzarro. Minnie had many life long friends including Gloria Dente and Lois Rosano who also mourn her passing.
Donations can be made in Minnie’s name to the Sierra Club or the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. A service celebrating Minnie’s life will be held at St Mary’s Cathedral, 1111 Gough St., SF, on August 26, 2017, at 11 am, and the family invites friends and family to lunch afterwards.