Dolores Forni

 Dolores Helen (Ghiringhelli) Forni passed away peacefully in her home, on July 22, 2019, at the age of 91. She was surrounded by the love of her cherished family. Born at Ross General Hospital on February 8, 1928, Dolores was the first-born child of Italian immigrant Joseph Ghiringhelli and Italian-American Antoinette (Pagani) Ghiringhelli. In 1937 Dolores moved to Fairfax when her parents purchased Deer Park Villa, a four acre property complete with restaurant, housing and space for her father's vegetable garden. Dolores was especially proud of the grove of redwood trees her father planted in the late 1930s. She attended St. Raphael Elementary School followed by St. Anselm High School, graduating in 1945. After attending Dominican College she married Peter Charles Forni in 1946 at St. Anselm Church. She resided at Deer Park Villa her whole life where she raised her family. Dolores worked alongside her brothers, Bob and Harry Ghiringhelli for over fifty years where she greeted thousands of guests, knowing most of them by name. She was like a second mother to her youngest brother Jon. As the keeper of the family’s history, Dolores was passionate about planning and gathering her expansive family as often as she could and took great pride in sharing and keeping family traditions and stories alive. Dolores is survived by her brothers Harry (Jackie) and Jon (Peggy), her two sons: Peter Joseph (Lynn) of Scottsdale, AZ and Jim Forni (Jan) of Petaluma. Dolores is also survived by four grandchildren, Peter Forni (Maricarmen), Louisa Forni (Adam), Jillian Fahy (Patrick), Chris Forni (Mariana); three great grandchildren, Dante, Vincere, and Francesca; predeceased grandson James Forni (Mary)  . A memorial mass will be celebrated Tuesday, July 30th at 11:00 am at St. Anselm Church in San Anselmo and all friends and relatives are welcome. A reception will follow at Deer Park Villa. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice by the Bay.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dolores Forni, please visit our floral store.