The beloved Rinaldo “Al” Rossi of Salinas passed away with his family surrounding him on July 13, 2014. He was born August 25, 1921 to Luigi and Catherine Rossi in Stockton, California but was raised in San Francisco. In World War II he served in the Army Air Corp in the Pacific. As President and co-owner, Al and his partners built the Salinas Disposal Service. He collaborated in the development of Crazy Horse Landfill. He engineered the concept of using compaction to extend the life of landfills, which serves as a model to this day. Al received the John Moscone Award from the California Refuse Removal Council. He was inducted in the National Solid Waste Management Hall of Fame.
He was most proud of his family. Al is survived by his wife of 68 years, Doris Landrum Rossi, his high school girlfriend and three daughters who adored him: Nancy (Loren) King, Linda (Vic) Rossi, and Paula (Roger) La Fountain. He was a wonderful grandfather to six grandchildren: Michael (Autumn) Rossi, Dominic (Nikki) Rossi, Victoria Rossi (fiancé Jerome Carlisle), Christopher (Stefi) King, Jameson (Laura) Lucero, Austin Lucero and two step-grandchildren: Nicholas (Melissa) La Fountain and Ashley (Adam) Fuoss and eleven great grandchildren, Luke, Kendall, Gianna, Eva, Francesca, Vincent, Andreas, Tristan, Ian, Lauren and Owen. He is also survived by his sister, Marie (Howard) Tall of Foster City and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Florence and George Cerelli of Oregon.
He created many fantastic memories for his loved ones when he took the entire family on multiple trips to Italy. He enjoyed traveling, gardening, listening to music and watching motor sports. He will be truly missed by family and friends. Al has donated his remains for medical research to the Willed Body Program at UCSF. The family would like to give a special thanks to the wonderful staff in the Memory Care Unit at Villa Serra who lovingly cared for him in the last few weeks of his life.
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