Remembering Della Beltrami

The picture frames are all straight in heaven today. Adele 'Della' Beltrami lived from May 14, 1919 to February 8, 2012, her entire life in West Sacramento. Preceded in death by her husband of 60 years Dino. Della was the mother of Rose Beltrami and Kathryn Beltrami (Martin Pierucci), and grandmother to Molly Artru (Scott), Joseph Pierucci (April), and Emily Pierucci. She was great-grandmother to Hannah Hoerl and Jonah Artru. Della was born to Constentino and Cecilia Parella on their farm in West Sacramento. She shared their home with brothers, Louie and Charlie, and sisters, Lilly and Cecelia. Della's parents were early farmer/settlers in West Sacramento and had immigrated to California from Asti, Italy.
Della had a wonderful childhood in what was then the very rural West Sacramento, attending dances and parties at the old West Sacramento Clubhouse on Alameda and taking the Sacramento Northern electric train to downtown Sacramento or distant San Francisco. Della and a group of friends joined 200,000 to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge on it's Opening Day in 1937. She also loved to travel to San Francisco by the riverboat Delta King.
She will be deeply missed by anyone who ever tasted her wonderful dinners. Marathon cooking yielded 100 dozen hand rolled raviolis at a time to be packed in careful layers for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The smiles at the dinner table got bigger every time those white ravioli boxes came out. No one could can fresh tomatoes as well as she could. Della lived her life with high standards and love. When asked how she was feeling near the end she replied, '100 percent,' and her parting advice was, 'don't forget the rosemary and garlic.' She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and wonderful caregivers Louisa, Debbie, and Joana.
Services on Wed., February 15, 2012 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Mary's Cemetery Chapel, 6700 21st Ave., Sacramento, CA. Remembrances may be made in Della's name to Christian Brothers High School and Nor. Cal Services for Deaf & Hard of Hearing. River Cities Funeral Chapel.
Published in The Sacramento Bee on February 12, 2012