Laura Mary Filippini

Laura is survived by her three children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Her children are Leonard Filippini (Eileen Laurena) of Elk Grove CA, James Filippini (Mary Ogen) of Stockton CA, and Anita Loeffler (Michael) of Nampa, Idaho. Her grandchildren are Sean Filippini (Rona Kupec) of El Dorado Hills CA, Corey Filippini of Santa Cruz CA, Ryan Filippini (Heather Kenney) of Sacramento CA, and Laura Loeffler of Nampa, Idaho. Her great-grandchildren all carry the name of Filippini: Ilona, Emilia, Ireland, Joseph, and Eve. Laura Filippini is also survived by niece Dori Lou Johnson (Jim) of Sebastopol, CA and nephew Frank Filippini of Palm Desert, CA. She was preceded in death by her parents, Attilio Zanni and Sofia Del Ponte Zanni, her husband Joseph Filippini, her grandson Andrew Loeffler, and her nephew Alfred Filippini.

Laura was born on her parents’ dairy ranch on January 2, 1922 in Tipton, Tulare County, California. After receiving national awards for poetry and English composition, she graduated from California’s Dos Palos High School in 1940. Later that year, she moved to Oakland, Alameda County, California and began working as a technician in a dental laboratory while also studying at Holy Names College.

Laura married a WWII army veteran and pharmacist Joseph “Joe” Filippini in Oakland on June 16, 1946. Her new husband was amidst transition into a full time occupation in his family’s urban creamery business. Their first home was on First Avenue on the shore of Oakland’s Lake Merritt. There they welcomed two sons into the world, first in 1947 and then in 1949. In 1951, Laura, Joe and their boys moved across town to La Cresta Avenue, which became their residence for the next 32 years. Their daughter Anita was born in 1956. In the 1950's Laura did accounting work for her family's corporation, Creamcrest Dairy. After her children were older, Laura returned to school to study nursing and later worked in Oakland hospitals.

In 1981 Laura and Joe moved to Lodi, San Joaquin County, California, to help in the raising of their grandchildren. Joe passed away in 1993. In 2004, Laura moved to Auburn, Placer County, California, where for several years she was able to share her life and wisdom with her two youngest grandchildren. Laura lived the past seven years in the pleasant company of fellow guests and friends in the Parvu family home in the Placer County town of Lincoln.

Laura Filippini’s life was especially marked by integrity, humility, and kindness. She was a woman of deep religious faith. And she respected the right of all people to maintain their own ultimate beliefs about the origin, purpose, and meaning of human life and the universe. She was most passionate about assuring that her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were raised with a well-rounded education, a sense of personal responsibility, and an awareness of their fellow human beings in the world.

Laura’s adult life found her involved as a volunteer with numerous civic, educational, and church organizations. Her intense interest in genealogy and the history of her Swiss-Italian family was nurtured by her many visits to her cousins in her ancestral villages of Bignasco and Cevio in Canton Ticino, Switzerland. Laura and Joe Filippini’s family today is six generations removed from when the earliest ancestor immigrated to the U.S. in 1866. But thanks to the dedication and encouragement of family members like Laura, dozens of Swiss and American cousins from both continents are still visiting with one another and benefiting from each other’s company to this day.

A time for Visitation and Viewing for Laura Filippini is open between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm, with Prayer and Rosary at 6:00 pm, on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Nicoletti, Culjis, and Herberger Funeral Home, 5401 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento CA 95819.

A Funeral Mass with sacred music is scheduled for Laura Filippini at 11:00 am on Friday, January 12, 2024, at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, 1040 39th Street (at J Street), Sacramento CA 95819. A reception will follow at a nearby family residence; location to be announced at the Church.

In lieu of flowers, Laura’s family suggests sending donations to a charity of your choice.

The Filippini family extends its heartfelt thanks to James and Elena Parvu for the compassionate, respectful, and personalized care they provided to Laura as she advanced to and beyond the century mark in her long life.