Donald Frank Coletti
October 25, 1933 - July 1, 2019 Monte Sereno
Donald Frank Coletti passed away peacefully on July 1, 2019 at the age of 85 at his Monte Sereno home with his loving family by his side. Born on October 25, 1933 in Bakersfield, California, Don lived in the Los Gatos area for the past fifty years.
Don met his soul mate, Constance Ann Gormsen, when they were both 15 years old. Theirs was an all-time great love affair, living happily as husband and wife for 59 years until Connie’s passing in 2012.
Throughout his life, Don prioritized family and faith. His wisdom and moral guidance at the helm of the Coletti family created a lasting legacy of unwavering commitment to family – a legacy that lives on in Don’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as the dozens of admirers who considered him a second father.
Don served in the U.S. Air Force and continued to be a great patriot long after his military service ended. Don considered himself an “entrepreneurial merchant.” Through the 1950s and early 60s, he owned a chain of sporting goods stores and the first Honda dealership in the Central Valley of California. By the mid-60s, Don foresaw great opportunity with the early boom of Silicon Valley and accepted a position as a key executive in an engineering firm, Zeta International Engineering. This experience culminated in his proud ownership of Engineered Handling Products until his retirement in 2001.
A keen hunter and fisherman, Don was an outdoorsman who taught his family to appreciate the beauty of nature. He also loved motorsports, having driven racetracks from Sears Point to the Nurburgring in Germany. Don loved his community and served the local youth for years as a baseball coach.
Don lived his life with the highest integrity, earning respect and showing respect in all he did. His kindness and principled nature had a profound and enduring impact on those fortunate enough to know him. Don was a powerful listener who imbued each conversation with a sense of significance and deep caring, and in so doing, he made everyone in his midst feel special. He possessed an art lost on so many today – that of collecting his thoughts before he spoke. Don gave advice only when asked, and his wise counsel was always without judgment of others. All of Don’s interactions were grounded in humility, authenticity and patience. He put others in the spotlight and always found time for those who sought his guidance. Through each interaction, Don enriched the lives of those around him.
Don passed just three weeks and three days after learning he had aggressive metastasized cancer. With his passing, his soul will finally be reunited with his beloved late wife, Connie.
Don was predeceased by his wife, Connie, and his son, Marc. He is survived by three of his children, Cindy (Darren), Jeff (Carol) and Michael (Lisa), seven grandchildren Tiffany (Jon), Donald (Louise), Giano (Lauren), Brian (Brooke), Kimberlee (Curtis), Brittany (Michael) and Nicholas, six great-grandchildren Audrina, Olivia, Jackson, Calvin, Danica and Dylan, and a devoted extended family and network of friends. Everyone is richer for knowing Don Coletti.
A Rosary will be recited at 8:00 o’clock in the evening on Friday, July 26th at Darling & Fisher Chapel of the Hills in Los Gatos. Services will be held at St. Mary’s Church in Los Gatos at 11:00 o’clock in the morning on Saturday, July 27th .