Arnold I Ambrosini

April 20, 1926 -August 5, 2016

Arnold T. Ambrosini, born April 20, 1926, in San Francisco, CA, died on August 5, 2016, at the age of 90, in Palo Alto, CA.

Arnie grew up in San Francisco, attended Lowell High School, then studied electrical engineering at UC Berkeley, where he met his future wife, Sylvia, through Cal's student music groups Glee Club and Treble Clef.

During World War II, he served as a radio operator in the Merchant Marines, serving for several years and making at least two trips through the Panama Canal. After the war, he completed his UC Berkeley bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and began his professional engineering career, eventually establishing a successful firm, Ambrosini & Chalmers, which designed and installed electrical systems in municipal water treatment and pumping facilities throughout California. He and Sylvia married in 1950 and lived in Woodside and Palo Alto.

Travel and music were among Arnie’s greatest passions. He and Sylvia explored nearly 50 countries, and even while enjoying his travels he was always planning the next great adventure. He was an insatiable traveler, a connoisseur of delicious food and wine, an opera lover, and an adept conversationalist who could make friends anywhere.

He was an active member of numerous professional organizations, including Kiwanis and Fellowship Forum, and served on many committees at the Vi at Palo Alto where he resided.

Arnie is survived by his wife of 66 years Sylvia Ambrosini; daughters Lynne Ambrosini and Jan Ambrosini; son-in-law Tim Stroshane; granddaughters Veronica, Thea, Lauren, and Kelsey; step-sister Shirley Seaton and the Seaton family; former son-in-law Rob Contin; Pat, Reagan, Joanne, Saida, and Warren Woolf; and relatives in Italy and Australia.

He was predeceased by his daughter Joyce Ambrosini, his mother Dorothy (Swithenbank) Ayres, father Camillo Ambrosini, and stepfather Richard Ayres.

A private family burial is planned.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford or the charity of your choice.