Harvey Anthony Passanisi

January 11, 1931 - March 23, 2018

Harvey Anthony Passanisi, 87, died on March 23, 2018, six months after his beloved wife, Beverly. He was the youngest child of Frances Pulvirenti and Nunzio Passanisi, both Sicilian immigrants. The family lived in Michigan, where Harvey was born, and then relocated to a farm in Turlock, California during The Depression. Harvey liked to reminisce about drinking milk straight out of the cow’s udder.

In 1939, the family moved to Lombard Street in San Francisco. At the age of eight, he sold newspapers on Chestnut Street in the Marina District. He attended Sacred Heart High School and then continued on to study engineering at San Francisco City College.

During the Korean War, Harvey joined the Army Corp of Engineers, entering officer’s school. He was stationed in Germany and worked to rebuild bridges that had been destroyed during the war. Until the day he died, he often talked about and enjoyed memories of his time in Europe with his army buddies.

Harvey married Beverly Obujen after his return from service in 1954, and they moved to the hills of San Mateo. He is survived by his daughters, Denise and her husband Miles, Cynthia and her husband Mark, and Michelle, as well as his grandchildren, who adored him, Jade, Jesse, Rachel, Brian, Evelyn, Matthew and Allison.

Harvey worked for the state of California as an engineer, helping to head up such projects as Hwy 280. He moved into a position at the Santa Clara Water Department and Flood Control, monitoring dams, waterways and aquifers. Until his wife’s illness in 2016, Harvey was an engineering consultant on a major development in Brisbane. He maintained his connection to the army through The Reserves, retiring as a colonel in 1982.

He loved his gardens, his fruit trees and his quiet yard, and he often stated that it was his favorite place on the planet. It gave him respite from his busy work life, and a place for his children and grandchildren to run in the sprinklers and make mud pies. He will be sorely missed by his family, neighbors and friends.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:30am on April 18th at St. Gregory Catholic Church in San Mateo. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St Anthony’s Kitchen in San Francisco.