Giuseppe Minato peacefully passed away at home on November 17, 2021. He is survived by his daughter Tiffaney, her children Josiah and Abigail, and his son Michael, his son Angelo, Michael’s wife, Leslie and her daughter Samantha, and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie, and his 6 sisters Mary, Fiorina, Emma, Margaret, Elide,
and Luisa.
“Joe” was born on January 8, 1936 in Fonte, Italy. He was the only son and youngest of 7 siblings. Manual labor was not foreign to Joe as he reminisced about many different responsibilities he had growing up on a farm.
He came to the US when he was 26 years old, following in the footsteps of his sisters who had settled in California. He went to school to learn English. He worked as a butcher in a meat packing plant in Carpinteria and purchased his first home in Santa Barbara. He later met his wife Bonnie and they were married in 1970. In 1975 the family moved to Carpinteria where he resided until 2018. He then worked for many years maintaining the Upper Village property in Montecito as groundskeeper. He knew many people in town, either through his roots in Santa Barbara or through the tight-knit ties of his Italian family. For the last few years, Joe lived with his daughter Tiffaney and her children. The family would like to thank all the caregivers, specifically, Laura Adama, for their dedication and care of their father for the past two years.
Joe lived a life that was rooted in his faith, family, hard work, and serving others. He was always willing to give to others, whether it be his time, his money, or even loaning his old pick-up truck. He was a peace keeper and a humble being. He never wanted to inconvenience others. He never asked anything of others, but gave to many. He liked his routines, walking to Saint Joseph’s church for mass every morning, gardening in the backyard, having a meal of salami and cheese and an occasional can of tuna, sitting down to pay his bills, taking a nap in his recliner chair. He regularly watched church services on TV, occasionally visited with family/friends, and had special joy spending time with the grandchildren. These simple things made him happy.
Church service will be on Monday, November 29th at St. Joseph’s Church in Carpinteria at 10 a.m. Burial service will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County in memory of Giuseppe Minato.
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, to all bravely await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
