The life of a legend was celebrated Thursday. Every seat at St.
Mary Church was filled with someone whose life and heart had been
touched by Val Filice. The faces that stood out of the congregation
were lit up with smiles. They had the full, happy life of the
‘Godfather of Garlic,’ as he had lovingly been dubbed, to
honor.
Sara Suddes – staff writer
ss*****@gi************.com
GILROY
The life of a legend was celebrated Thursday. Every seat at St. Mary Church was filled with someone whose life and heart had been touched by Val Filice. The faces that stood out of the congregation were lit up with smiles. They had the full, happy life of the ‘Godfather of Garlic,’ as he had lovingly been dubbed, to honor.
Members of the Filice family filed into the church to the strains of “On Eagles Wings.” Father Paolo Gobbo of St. Christopher’s Catholic Church in San Jose celebrated the two hour Mass in both English and Italian. Grandson Robby Filice paid homage to his grandfather, “a great man with a wonderful attitude about life,” and shared heart felt stories with friends and family, laced with anecdotes that broke the heavy emotion lingering over the churchgoers.
“He would taste anything that was good and add a pinch of something to make it great,” Robby Filice, said. “When we asked if the food was ready, he always said, ‘wait just five or 10 minutes more.’ ”
Born in Gilroy June 4, 1927 to Angelina and Antonio Filice, Val Filice grew up the son of a farmer and took on the career when his father died in 1947. He cut short his education at San Jose State University, moved back to Gilroy, and started a family. He had two children, Valerie and Bob, with wife Elsie, who died a decade ago. He became an active volunteer in his spare time and his service to the community is remembered by all. Parsimonious with his money but generous with his time and talents, Val Filice whipped up holiday meals at St. Joseph’s Family Center every year to feed hundreds of homeless, volunteered at the annual spaghetti dinner to benefit St. Mary School athletes, and fueled Gourmet Alley at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, which he helped co-found 30 years ago.
Daughter Valerie Filice took her place on the altar to thank everyone who visited her father during his short bout with pancreatic cancer. During the last few weeks, his door was always open, not a meal was left uncooked, and the house was filled with food and friends, she said. He refused to neglect his loved ones and made it “his final job to have me meet all his friends before he left.” Valerie Filice’s voice broke as she shared this story with the congregation. Val Filice told his daughter that dying was a hard job, but “he loved hard jobs” she laughed.
Valerie Filice’s memories of her father resounded through the church and struck a chord with the congregation when she recounted a time when her father looked out at his land in Gilroy, raised his massive hands over his head in thanks and said “this is God’s country.”
“He was the best advertising Gilroy had,” she said.
The man who was a beloved fixture in Gilroy for 80 years was honest, humble, and unassuming, said his daughter. “He never tried to make his ways your ways and a handshake was all you needed from him, even for complex business deals,” Valerie Filice said.
The Rev. Paulo Gobbo recounted the first time he met Filice and how the encounter was “an eye-opener.”
“He was a man who always spoke his mind no matter what,” Gobbo said of Filice’s sometimes gruff exterior. “But he had a golden heart.” Gobbo emphasized the importance of generosity of the heart over the hand and pointed to Filice as the quintessential example.
“He always put people before earthly possessions,” Gobbo said. “Arrivederci Val, we will see you again.”
“Val was a fabulous individual. I’ve known him all my life,” said Don Gage, Santa Clara County Supervisor. “He was very involved in the community and never could say no. I can’t share enough good words about Val.”
Many members of the congregation knew Val Filice through his years of volunteer service.
“There’s not a man with a bigger heart,” said Margo Daniels who worked with Filice for 25 years at the AT&T Pebble Beach golf tournament. Her husband, Tim Daniels cooked sauces, pastas and vegetables with Filice at the tournaments. Daniels said that he was privileged to cook at Filice’s side.
“Val always said, ‘hmmm, that needs a little more garlic’ and would add a pinch,” Tim Daniels said. But a pinch of garlic in Filice’s hands was the equivalent of a handful of garlic in another’s hands.
Brian Bowe, the Executive Director of the Garlic Festival Association, knew Filice from his years of volunteering at the festival. Bowe called Filice an “icon that will be sorely missed.”
“He had that larger than life Italian presence with huge hands and a huge heart,” Bowe said.
Others gathered to celebrate the life of the Gilroy legend agreed that Filice was an exceptional man.
“He would give the shirt off his back and never let anyone leave his house with an empty stomach,” said John Albaugh of his lifelong friend.
