Visitation will be held for Michael Joseph Romanelli, 80, at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 5335 Snyder Avenue, Monday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a rosary at 7 p.m. Mass wll be held at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Tuesday at 11 a.m. with Father Jim Setelik presiding.
Mr. Romanelli died October 5, 2000, at the V.A. Hospital in Reno of pneumonia.
As a soldier in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, Romanelli was captured in Corregidor in May of 1942, and survived the remainder of the war as a prisoner in Japan. Following his military service, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in American History.
He spend his working life as an investigator and later Assistant Chief of the San Franciso Region of the U.S. Civil Service. He retired at age 53, and for the next twenty years traveled the West with his wife, Jean. He became an expert amateur carpenter, built a sailboat, and filled the homes of those close to him with handcrafted furniture.
He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. When asked what he was most proud of in is life, he said, "I've got four good kids." His grandchildren were a great joy in his later years.
Among his survivors are his wife of 53 years, Jean, his four children, Elaine Romanelli, Susan Romanelli, Patricia McIntosh, and Paula Delgado, son-in-law Anthony, and nine grandchildren: Christina, Bubba, Christopher, Mitchell, Ryan, Peter, Megan, Kristopher, and Brianna.
