Salvatore Marchetti Obituary

Salvatore Marchetti, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle passed away on January 17, 2019 at the age of 88. He leaves behind his wife of 64 years, Frances; his four children, Karen, David (Kim), Lyneen (Rob), and Brian; his two grandchildren, Alyssa and Matthew; brother Rocco (Sally) and sister Marcella (Jack); and many nieces, nephews, and cousins from his large Italian family.
Sal was born in Philadelphia to Vito Joseph and Filomena Marchetti, the second of 4 children. His older brother Joe preceded him in death. Sal graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and did some post-graduate work at Drexel.
Sal served as a Naval Officer in the late 1950s, assigned to Ground Control Approach duty on North Island on Coronado, which began his lifelong love affair with San Diego. When his tour of duty was up, he, Frances, and infant daughter Karen left San Diego and returned to the Philadelphia area where he and Frances grew up. Sal began his chemical engineering career at Baker & Adamson in Philadelphia, and then transferred to Allied Chemical in Morristown, New Jersey. After a 20-year career with Allied, Sal moved the family back to his beloved San Diego, and settled in La Jolla in 1971.
He continued his engineering work with Kelco and General Atomic in San Diego, and then decided to commute to Irvine to work for the Fluor Corporation. He made the commute for 20+ years to keep the family in La Jolla.
Sal started the Toastmasters chapter at Fluor, and actively mentored many other engineers. He served in many volunteer roles at All Hallows Church, including extraordinary minister and Parish Council member. He and Fran coordinated the 25th anniversary program for the parish.
He always had an interest in architecture, and designed the family home in New Jersey. He built a brick patio and screened-in porch, and finished the 2000 square foot basement himself. In La Jolla, he built an outdoor pool bath, installed two outdoor fountains, laid 2000+ square feet of pavers, and designed a two-story gazebo to gain an ocean view.
His funeral Mass will be celebrated at All Hallows Catholic Church in La Jolla on Monday, January 28 at 10:00 am, which will be preceded by a viewing at 9:30 am. He will be entombed at Mission San Luis Rey. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.