Anthony A. “Dick” DeMartini Memorial Endowment Fund
The Anthony A. “Dick” DeMartini Memorial Endowment Fund was established in memory of Dick DeMartini, born in Portland, Oregon on Dec. 12, 1907. Dick was one of five children and the only son of Raffaele and Emma DeMartini, Italian immigrants who came to Portland in 1902. Raffaele DeMartini was a leader in Portland’s Italian community, served on the board of the Bank of East Portland, and was a founder of the Gardeners and Ranchers Association in Portland.
For the DeMartini family, St. Ignatius parish was central to their Catholic faith and St. Ignatius School provided from its inception an excellent education for all five children. Dick and his sisters walked to St. Ignatius school daily from the family home at S.E. 52nd and Ivon, and Dick’s oldest sister, Mary, lived in that home until her death at the age of 100 in August, 2001. [Mary had a forty-six (46) year career with Portland’s First National Bank and was the first woman trust officer in the state of Oregon. She was also a charter member of the St. Ignatius School Foundation.] Two other sisters married and spent their lives in Portland: Rose (Mrs. Joseph Hartung)--died in 1973, and Margaret (Mrs. Thomas “TJ” Dundon)--died in February, 2002. The other sister, Ann, became a nurse and entered the order of the Sisters of Charity of Providence; most of her career was spent at Providence Hospital in Oakland, California, where she died in 1969.
Although a business transfer sent Dick to California in 1947, his family roots and his heart never left Portland. For many years, Dick, his wife Betty [Mary Elizabeth Kirch of Vancouver, Washington], and sons Kirch and Joe made annual vacation trips to Portland to spend time with family and friends.
Dick had a thirty-three (33) year career with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, beginning as an agent in Portland in 1936 and ending with his retirement as District Manager in Santa Monica, California, in 1968. After retirement, Dick and Betty moved to Los Gatos, California. Their son Joe, a professor at Washington State University, died in 1993. Dick died in July, 2002 and Betty in December, 2003. Their son Kirch lives with his wife Sharon in Saratoga, California.
Dick was a family man, dedicated to his wife and sons. He is remembered by all who knew him as an exceptionally patient, kind and gentle person. Dick always enjoyed golf--he was a 1937 winner at Portland’s Broadmoor Spring Handicap and in retirement he played three times a week, shooting his only hole-in-one in 1989 at age 82.
For the DeMartini family, St. Ignatius was the site for numerous baptisms, first communions, weddings, and funerals, and the school provided guidance, education, and sound beginnings to Dick and his family. It is in gratitude to St. Ignatius parish and school that the Anthony A. ‘Dick’ DeMartini Memorial Endowment Fund has been established.
For the DeMartini family, St. Ignatius parish was central to their Catholic faith and St. Ignatius School provided from its inception an excellent education for all five children. Dick and his sisters walked to St. Ignatius school daily from the family home at S.E. 52nd and Ivon, and Dick’s oldest sister, Mary, lived in that home until her death at the age of 100 in August, 2001. [Mary had a forty-six (46) year career with Portland’s First National Bank and was the first woman trust officer in the state of Oregon. She was also a charter member of the St. Ignatius School Foundation.] Two other sisters married and spent their lives in Portland: Rose (Mrs. Joseph Hartung)--died in 1973, and Margaret (Mrs. Thomas “TJ” Dundon)--died in February, 2002. The other sister, Ann, became a nurse and entered the order of the Sisters of Charity of Providence; most of her career was spent at Providence Hospital in Oakland, California, where she died in 1969.
Although a business transfer sent Dick to California in 1947, his family roots and his heart never left Portland. For many years, Dick, his wife Betty [Mary Elizabeth Kirch of Vancouver, Washington], and sons Kirch and Joe made annual vacation trips to Portland to spend time with family and friends.
Dick had a thirty-three (33) year career with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, beginning as an agent in Portland in 1936 and ending with his retirement as District Manager in Santa Monica, California, in 1968. After retirement, Dick and Betty moved to Los Gatos, California. Their son Joe, a professor at Washington State University, died in 1993. Dick died in July, 2002 and Betty in December, 2003. Their son Kirch lives with his wife Sharon in Saratoga, California.
Dick was a family man, dedicated to his wife and sons. He is remembered by all who knew him as an exceptionally patient, kind and gentle person. Dick always enjoyed golf--he was a 1937 winner at Portland’s Broadmoor Spring Handicap and in retirement he played three times a week, shooting his only hole-in-one in 1989 at age 82.
For the DeMartini family, St. Ignatius was the site for numerous baptisms, first communions, weddings, and funerals, and the school provided guidance, education, and sound beginnings to Dick and his family. It is in gratitude to St. Ignatius parish and school that the Anthony A. ‘Dick’ DeMartini Memorial Endowment Fund has been established.