Peter Albert Menghetti

Beloved husband, father and friend to many, Peter (Pete) Albert Menghetti passed away peacefully on March 20, 2020 and is survived by his wife of 64 years, Kathleen Menghetti, four children, Charles (Katie), Andrea, Anita and Paul Menghetti, granddaughter Amy Menghetti and great granddaughter Maya Paduano. Pete was predeceased by his father Charles Menghetti, mother Anna Sartori Menghetti, and brothers, Charles Menghetti and Emil Bernasconi.

Pete was born on November 24,1929, in Modesto where he lived his entire life at the same westside address. In May of 2019 he and Kathy celebrated the 100 year anniversary of Menghetti Ranch with family and friends.  He attended Shiloh Elementary, Modesto High School (class of ’47) and Modesto Junior College. 

He loved farming and often said he couldn’t imagine being happier doing anything else: he was a content man. Relatively easy going, Pete also liked being in charge, and one of the many aspects of farming he appreciated was being his own boss.  He was an early convert to almond farming, planting his first almond orchard in 1959. He generously shared his farming knowledge and supported many farm-related causes. Preserving farmland was important to Pete and Kathy and they placed an agricultural conservation easement on 155 acres of prime farmland with the California Farmland Trust in January 2009.

Soft spoken and sociable, Pete had a mischievous sense of humor. He would sometimes delight in telling tall tales which his twinkling blue eyes would inadvertently expose to those who knew him well. An avid golfer and life long member of the Swiss Club, he enjoyed meeting new people and asked insightful and inquisitive questions of them. He read every night, instilling a love of reading in all of his children. Maintaining a wide circle of friends, he was the sort of neighbor everyone wishes lived next door, quick to offer a hand, but respectful of privacy.  Pete and Kathy loved entertaining, from kids’ pool parties, to Christmas parties and Fourth of July celebrations, Pete was always pouring wine and ensuring everyone had a good time.  He loved to cook and bake using his mother’s old family recipes and experimenting with new ones. His apple and apricot pies were considered to be the best in the world by his family and his biscotti recipe has been shared with friends around the globe.

For the last 20 years Pete and Kathy hosted Friday night Happy Hours for several westside friends and occasional guests from further afield.  Red wine and potluck hors’ d’oeuvres were shared and the world’s problems were roundly debated and occasionally solved, only to be raised for discussion again the following Friday.  No words could ever capture all that he was and all that he meant to us.

A memorial service will be planned for a later date.

Donations in Memoriam may be made to any of these organizations:

California Farm Land Trust 

https://www.cafarmtrust.org 

St. Luke's Family Practice

1700 McHenry Village Way, Suite 2

Modesto, CA 95350

Alzheimer’s Association

https://act.alz.org/site/Donation

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.