There are times life can humble you. It can also subdue pockets of a
community.
On May, 27, 2020, heaven gained a Napa Valley legend as Frank Bozzini
passed away at the Queen of the Valley Hospital. Bozzini had been suffering
from Alzheimer’s Disease in his recent final years.
The 83-year old Bozzini is survived by his wife, Del, of 62 years along with
his kids Mark, David, and Lynn; his son-in-law Kevin Ryan; his
grandchildren Michael, Mark, Dante, Sean, Christopher, Catherine and
Douglas. He was preceded in death by his older sister Duane in 2011 and
his granddaughter Gianna in 2017. At the present time, there is no definitive
date for services.
Bozzini was born and raised in San Francisco, graduating from St. Vincent
de Paul Grammar School and St. Ignatius High School. He later attended
the University of San Francisco before finishing his education at Heald’s
Business College. Bozzini became very accomplished academically,
athletically and in debate.
Though he spent the formative years of his life in San Francisco, Bozzini
became an icon in the community of Napa as a businessman, sports coach
and family man. He was a man for all seasons. Bozzini owned and operated
Frank’s Janitorial Service, having established the business with his father-
in-law, Frank Tiernan, and best friend, Sal D’Angelo. Bozzini retired in
2004 but also had an interest in real estate and established Napa
Development Associates in 1984.
Bozzini’s job was being a businessman but his passion was coaching youth
sports, which he did for 45 years: St. Apollinaris, St. John the Baptist, Napa
Boys and Girls Club, Napa AAU, Napa Little League, Napa Babe Ruth,
Vintage High School, St. Helena High School, Trinity Prep and Justin-
Siena High School. Bozzini coached over 500 athletes (young men and
women) and over 1,000 games.
I got to know Bozzini pretty well over the years. I was a student-athlete at
Justin when he coached girls basketball. Since I was also an aspiring sports
journalist, I did some volunteer work for Napa radio station KVON and got
to know him through that experience. Our families had also known each
other quite extensively and since he was of Italian descent, there was an
instant relatability. There’s an inside joke among Italians, we’re all kind of,
sort of related.
Years later, when I became a sports reporter, I got to know him even more
in his years coaching at Trinity Prep and as a co-coach at St. Helena High
with Ouvideo Gomes.
Whether the experience was sports, business, life or any endeavor, to use a
basketball analogy, he used a full-court press. Since Bozzini also coached
baseball, the apt analogy is, “he never went down looking at a third strike.”
Though Bozzini’s teams won at a high level, what stood about him as a
coach is finding the untapped potential that a youngster did not think he or
she had. More often than not, that potential became reality.
It is often said that a team carries the personality of its head coach. Bozzini
took an “if you pursue perfection, you’ll catch excellence” approach. His
approach in life was very similar. Bozzini set high goals because he believed
that his teams could achieve them. What resulted was the youngsters he
mentored felt empowered and ultimately achieved them. Bozzini coached
teams might have lost from time-to-time because the opponent was more
talented but never as a result of being ill-prepared.
My relationship with Bozzini, however, was more than just a media member/
coach. I considered him a friend because he had that relationship with both
my immediate and extended family. If you interviewed Bozzini after a game
or for a feature story, you were not going to be short of quoteworthy
material. In fact, it was like going to a buffet table knowing there would be
ample room for seconds.
Whenever I saw Bozzini, we chopped it up quite a bit, not just about sports
but about our families. Underneath that outwardly competitive man was a
good soul that made a difference in many lives. Coaching at the high school
and below levels are purely a labor of love in that it is done for either no
money at all or a small stipend. Anyone that does that for 45 years and long
after his kids are gone has a heart of gold. I don’t begrudge those who stop
coaching after their kids are done but I celebrate those who continue that
endeavor.
One of the more misunderstood narratives is “you only live once.” Not true.
You die once but you live every day. Bozzini lived nearly eight and a half
decades to the fullest. The sadness of his loss is immutable but if we can
take a portion of his life in terms of making a difference to others, we will
all be better people.
Frank, I’m in no hurry to get to where you are going but I know we will
meet again someday. Enjoy that basketball game in the sky.
Maybe one day, Alzheimer’s won’t be undefeated.
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