The planet’s best spaghetti sauce maker

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Giovanni Pelle, father of Dan Pelle, one the newspaper’s amazing photographers. Giovanni was Italian-American and famous for his spaghetti sauce. He used this cooking talent for the greater good. As his obit read:

He made the best spaghetti sauce on the planet and his family and friends will always cherish the memories of wonderful Italian meals around the table. He was especially proud of feeding legendary baseball coach Tommy Lasorda at the Pelle home. He extended his cooking talents to many spaghetti dinners which raised money for area churches, most notably St. Francis Xavier church where he was a longtime member.

As an Italian-American, I know firsthand that many Italian men are the excellent cooks in the family. I hope they leave us their recipes, but part of the magic of the taste is the way the men cook it, so it’s never quite recaptured after they are gone. Just another thing to miss.