Philip G. Francesconi

Phil Francesconi passed away suddenly on May 21, 2018. He was the beloved son of the late Gino and Dolly Francesconi, loving brother of Joan Miller, beloved uncle of Scott and Danielle Miller, and the loving partner of Janet Holland. Phil is also survived by his cousins and lifelong friends. Phil grew up in North Beach, actively involved in the Salesian Boy’s Club. He attended Sts. Peter & Paul grade school and graduated from Sacred Heart High School, Class of 1970. He recently retired from Bank of the West.

A vigil service will be held on Friday June 22nd at 7 p.m. and a funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. on June 23rd, both at Sts. Peter & Paul Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Salesian Boys and Girl’s Club or Sacred Heart Cathedral High School.

Leon (Lee) Goldin, teacher, plumber, lawyer, life-long fighter for justice and equality, died Friday, June 8, 2018. He was just shy of his 91st birthday. Lee came to his activism naturally and directly; his legal career not so much. Lee was born in the Bronx, NY. There he “burned Hitler’s house” (boxes he and his childhood cohorts set on fire in an empty lot. There were plenty of available empty lots in depression Bronx). As a student at UCLA (yes, California has had free higher education: UCLA tuition was $29/semester, including a mandatory $4 activity fee), he may have missed early morning classes, but never shied from trying to integrate barber shops in Westwood village and assuring free speech on campus. When he was a school teacher, he supported the improvement of public education and his fellow teachers through the teachers’ union - seeking better pay, better working conditions, and health care. Fired from his teaching job (it was the McCarthy era, and the school board took umbrage when Lee refused to answer questions about his political views, in effect telling the board to take a two mile hike on a one mile pier) Lee became a union plumber (his dad’s occupation). He was respected for his skill as a construction plumber and as a fighter for racial, ethnic and gender integration of the union, portal to portal pay, a shorter work week and a health and welfare fund, among other issues. Lee attended Southwestern law school nights, while helping construct the first section of the LA County jail during the day (Lee was supporting his wife and three children at the time). When Lee became a lawyer, he directed his efforts to improving society through the law and legal organizations. He never missed a State Bar meeting; he was active in the Conference of