John E. Chelini

October 13, 1934 - October 29, 2022

Fourth generation San Franciscan, John Chelini died peacefully at the age of 88. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 55 years, Susan Chelini; his daughters, Colleen Chelini and Tish Bottaro (Louie) and grandchildren, Vincent and Kelsey Bottaro.

John was born to Dr. Elias ‘Leo’ Constantino Chelini and Anne Freel Chelini in 1934. He graduated from St. Dominic’s School, Bellarmine College Prep and the University of San Francisco. He joined the Olympic Club at 8 years old and remained a member for 80 years. He served as an acolyte at St. Dominic’s Church over 40 years, serving Masses for several Archbishops and many Holy Day events such as Christmas and Easter.

He was a Master Sergeant in the US Army with so many stories of his time that it seemed like he had spent a whole career in the Motor Pool.

An avid outdoorsman, John was a fisherman and hunter most of his life. He grew up hunting on ranches in Cloverdale and Lower Lake. He loved his single-owner 1946 Willys CJ2A that he used for his driver’s license at age 14. In addition to hunting, he drove it in parades and as a get-away vehicle for weddings. John played water polo for Bellarmine and the Olympic Cub. He was a soccer referee all over Northern California and Oregon despite never having played soccer himself. He was well-known by coaches and players as a stickler for the rules. He was an assigner for Marin County Referees and an officer of the CA Youth Soccer Assn., District V.

He was a member of the Italian Athletic Club of Marin County and the Lower Lake Community Action Group. John bore the unofficial title of “Mayor of Shelley Drive” where he was known by neighbors including every dog that would come by on a stroll.

2022 was a wonderful year for John, ticking off many “Bucket List” family activities including Disneyland, Yellowstone and the dedication of a UC Davis crew shell to his daughter. He was able to watch Vincent act in a play and graduate high school and he never missed a chance to watch Kelsey compete in soccer or basketball. John was extremely proud of all his daughters and grandchildren accomplished and loved them dearly.

For information about his Memorial in January, please go to http://tinyurl. com/4fx3ve66. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Chelini Scholarship at the Redwood High School Foundation, 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur CA 94939 (www. redwoodhsfoundation.org) are suggested.