For the sake of old times…
What makes an event successful? The setting, the service, the sound system, and the guests.
Well, everything was there yesterday at the memorial service honoring Roger Mattei and his family. It took place under bright sunshine at the home of Tom and Monique (Bricca) on the outskirts of San Rafael.
The food was catered, and Jean-Paul Barthe and his wife Elisabeth provided the sound system and video. Thanks to Jean-Paul’s savoir-faire, numerous photos recounting Roger and Sabine’s lives were shown on a large TV screen for everybody to see.
Roger was a legendary figure among the Bay Area French community. For 20 years, he and his mother Ginette owned Le Montmartre, a bar located on Broadway (and for 12 more years on Lombard) in San Francisco, and it was always well attended. After a while, it became known as the unofficial French Consulate of the city, and you went there to see, be seen, or do business.
It was a mandatory spot to drop by for any French visitor, and when Charles Aznavour gave a concert in San Francisco, he of course came to this place for some drinks and merrymaking.
The fame of this establishment traveled far and wide. Every four years, a French Navy training ship called La Jeanne d’Arc dropped anchor in San Francisco and everybody aboard knew about this place. Useless to say when this happened, Le Montmartre was literally mobbed.
Roger, who by the way was a devilishly handsome gentleman, was a man’s man. He loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. Every occasion was good for him to go on some expedition on the sea or some mountain. He loved to drive and also rode a motorcycle.
Numerous guests and family members were present yesterday, and a few volunteered to say a few words and anecdotes about Roger. His sons and grandsons also paid tribute to their patriarch, and some shed some tears recounting some memories.
Many members of our pétanque club came to pay tribute to Roger and his wife Sabine. Among them, Christine Cragg, Jean-Claude and Minette Etallaz, Antoine and Eva Lofaro, François and Danielle Moser, Serge Hanne, Noël and Rosalie Marcovecchio, Claudie Chourré, Alain and Evelyne Marchand and of course the three musketeers Mireille Di Maio, Monique Bricca and Sabine Mattei.
The memorial was very successful, and I am pretty sure that Roger, riding shotgun on some heavenly cloud, was smiling approvingly.
Alain