RUFFINO, McLACHLIN

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Sunday, January 07, 2007 at 16:46:37 :

Independent Journal
Monday, November 9,1992

SILVIO JOSEPH RUFFINO
A founder of Bianco Motors

Silvio Joseph Ruffino, one of the founders of Bianco Motors in Corte Madera, died at Novato Community Hospital of heart failure Wednesday, Nov. 4, 1992. He was 89.

Born in Castalmonte, Turin, Italy in 1903, he came to the United States as a child. Before settling in Marin County, he lived in San Francisco, where as a young boy he lit the gas lights of the city streets and sold postcards at the 1915 World’s Fair.

One of the original owners of Bianco Motors, he worked there for 40 years, retiring in 1961. He also worked as an instructor at Heald’s College, training mechanics who went on to open their own shops in Marin.

During World War II, he served in the Coast Guard Reserves, overseeing patrol of the bay and submarine nets.

A fishing and hunting enthusiast, Mr. Ruffino often could be seen salmon fishing on the ocean and bay waters in his boat “Pogie,” which he had custom designed for fishing in the waters of San Francisco Bay. Not only was he highly regarded as an expert angler, his mechanical skills were widely known and his advice sought by many, including Sea Magazine, for solutions to technical problems with hulls, machinery and engines.

“Sil was a real gentleman, interested in his neighbors and, when called upon, in helping them solve their problems,” Sea Magazine once said.

In recent years, Mr. Ruffino enjoyed tending his vegetable garden and playing dominoes with friends. He was a member of the Rotary Club of San Rafael, Sirs, the Masonic Lodge for 50 years, and a life member of San Rafael Elks Lodge, Club Italia of Marin, and the Marin Rod and Gun Club, of which he was a past president.

He is survived by his daughter, Ruth A. McLachlin of Rohnert Park; a son, Richard C. Ruffino of San Rafael; and five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held 1:30 p.m. Friday at Elks BPOE Lodge, 1312 Mission Ave., San Rafael. Memorial contributions preferred to San Rafael Rotary Club Education Fund, 127 Ridgewood Drive, San Rafael, CA 94901; or a favorite charity.