Press Release Source: Randy J. Valli


Obituary: Caesar J. Valli (1925-2007) -- Beloved Maitre D' Welcomed 100,000+ Diners to Famous 'Hill' Restaurants in 1970s, 80s and 90s
Saturday December 22, 3:17 am ET
St. Louis, Missouri and Bi-State (MISSOURI-ILLINOIS) Region


ST. LOUIS, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesar Joseph Valli died at his home Friday, Dec. 21, 2007, 11:00 p.m., of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or "Lou Gehrig's disease." Valli was 82.
For Photo: http://www.CaesarValli.com

For decades, Valli was a fixture at some of The Hill's most popular Italian restaurants. As weekend Maitre D', his was the face that greeted more than 100,000 diners at Rigazzi's, Da Baldo Trattoria, formerly Da Vinci's, Bartolino's, and finally Cunetto House of Pasta. He also served as weekend Maitre D' for seven years at Italian Gardens/Bartolino's South in South St. Louis County.

Valli was born and raised in the St. Ambrose Parish on The Hill. He grew- up in the same tight-knit neighborhood as Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra and Joe Garagiola, Sr. Both Berra and Garagiola became baseball Hall of Famers. Garagiola went-on to broadcast for NBC, and Berra became famous for his malapropisms, or "Yogiisms." All three were born into the St. Ambrose Parish in 1925 or 1926 and were friends on the playgrounds. Valli often joked that he "had the same English skills as Yogi Berra."

A first-generation American, Caesar Joseph Valli was born in St. Louis on April 27, 1925 to Pietro Allesandro Valli and Antoinette Benedetta Valli (nee Bottarini), both of whom immigrated to the U.S. from Turbigo, Italy in 1922. Turbigo is in the Lombardy region in northwest Italy, about 30 miles west of Milan; its current population is about 7,200.

Valli is survived by wife Carolyn, daughter Lynn, son Randy and daughter- in-law Patty, son Tim and daughter-in-law Chris, and grandchildren Peter, Monica and Sarah. He is also survived by sister-in-law Margaret Kistner, and brother-in-law Ray Schulte.

Visitation, mass and funeral arrangements are pending. Visitation will be at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Rd., Affton, Mo., (date and time to be announced shortly). The funeral mass will be held at St. Ambrose Church, 5130 Wilson Ave., City of St. Louis (date and time to be announced shortly). The final resting place will be Resurrection Cemetery, 6901 Mackenzie Rd., South St. Louis County.




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Source: Randy J. Valli