San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Clement Dino DeAmicis
Clement Dino DeAmicis passed into God’s loving arms on September 23, 2018, two days after his 89th birthday.
Born on September 21, 1929, Clem was a proud first-generation Italian American. He spent his entire life in San Francisco, growing up at the foot of the Crooked Hill. He was the older son of Giovanni and Amelia DeAmicis, immigrants from Fossa, Italy. Clem learned English from his schoolmates and delivered newspapers up and down the hills of North Beach. Later, he walked those storied hills and many more as a San Francisco police officer. Clem served our Country in both the United States Army and the United States Navy Reserve. His service as a military police officer in the Presidio solidified his interest in a law enforcement career. Clem joined the San Francisco Police Department and spent 28 years rising through the ranks to become a Deputy Chief of Police during the tumultuous 70’s. He investigated many of the City’s most notorious cases, including the Zodiac murders, the Golden Dragon and Jonestown massacres and the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Clem was well-respected by his peers and fellow police officers. While in the police department, he earned a Master’s Degree in Criminology at San Francisco State University. After retiring from the police department, he began a 21-year career in the banking industry, heading security and investigations for Fidelity Savings, Citibank California and Bay View Federal Bank. He worked as a private investigator for Pinkerton, became a paralegal and also taught at Skyline Community College. Clem served on San Francisco’s Civil Grand Jury and was a San Francisco Parole Commissioner, a Marriage Commissioner at City Hall and an arbitrator for the California State Bar. Clem was a devout Catholic and a member of St. Brendan’s parish. He actively involved himself in local organizations, including the San Francisco State University Alumni Association, the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club, the Museo Italo Americano and the Columbus Day Celebration Committee, Inc., assuming leadership roles on many of the boards. He also authored monthly articles on Catholic saints for the Italian Catholic publications, Il Bolletino and Fra Noi. Above all, Clem was a family man, who adored his wife, RoseAnne, with whom he is finally reunited in Heaven. Clem’s beloved survivors are his brother John, children Nancy DeAmicis, David (Vera) DeAmicis, Amy (Doug) Wilton and Tracy (Ian) McMahan and grandchildren Luke, Milena, Rita, Jane, Nikolay and Anthony. He infused in each of them a profound love for their Italian heritage and exemplified the virtue of a life lived in service of others.
We will forever cherish our father’s caregivers from Tender Rose Dementia Care Specialists. They loved him like their own father and treated him with respect and dignity until the end.
Family and friends are invited to attend the Rosary at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 29, 2018, at St. Brendan Catholic Church, 29 Rockaway Avenue, San Francisco. A funeral mass will immediately follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Clem’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.