Iris Campodonico Pera
Iris Campodonico Pera, a beloved mother, great grandmother, proud Italian and lifelong Bay Area resident, died on January 10, 2021 of Covid-19 in San Rafael. She was 84.
Iris was born in San Francisco on September 13, 1936 to Rudolph and Siria Campodonico, whose parents had both come to California from northern Italy. Iris grew up in the Marina District, went to grammar school at St. Vincent de Paul, and high school at St. Rose Academy. She graduated in 1958 from Dominican College in San Rafael, where she studied English and started the Italian Club. She moved to Marin County in 1961 and raised three children there.
Iris started a bookkeeping business, The Bottom Line, and co-founded a San Rafael bank, New Horizons Savings and Loan. She was president of the Dominican College Alumni Association, chair of the Marin Designers’ Showcase, fundraising president for the Volunteer Bureau of Marin, director on the San Domenico School board and a member of the Cristoforo Colombo Club of Marin.
Iris believed life is best spent with family, and she was the glue that kept hers together. She gathered everybody over family meals, traditions and vacations to Hawaii, Lake Tahoe and the Russian River.
A boat captain and an avid tracker of the tides, Iris also believed that time is best spent by water. She traveled to six continents, cruised the Seven Seas and often brought her children and grandchildren along on her journeys. She cooked gourmet Italian food, stored hot sauce in her pockets, solved Sunday crosswords and devoured mystery novels.
Iris is survived by her brother, Jim Campodonico; and her three children; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren: Richard (wife Leslie, children Dominic and Lindsey, grandchildren Max and Maverick); Carol Napoli (husband Louis, children Julia and Tony); and Angelo (wife Laura, children Matthew, Christina and Olivia).
The family plans to scatter her ashes at sea in a private ceremony later this year. In lieu of flowers, donations in Iris’s memory can be made to Hospice by the Bay.