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The
San Clementean
The
Many Hats of Julia DiGiovanni
-Wife,
Mother, Self-Taught Businesswoman & Much More
by Anne Batty
 In
her presence, it’s hard to believe Julia DiGiovanni is in
her mid-eighties. Her gait is strong, her mind sharp and her wit
quick. And in spite of all she has accomplished in this town,
she is extremely modest. So modest in fact, she prefers talking
about her departed husband, Anthony (Tony) DiGiovanni’s
accomplishments, rather than her own.
“It was Tony who founded our
many businesses in this town,” Julia stated candidly. “I
was just a housewife, staying at home starching and ironing his
long-sleeved white shirts, and caring for two daughters, a mother,
father and father-in-law.”
“Just a housewife and stay-at-home
mom”. It’s a familiar phrase used by many women of
Julia’s generation. And it was in that mode that this unpretentious
woman did what the societal mores of the times dictated. She stood
behind her man, not only wearing the hats of wife, mother and
caregiver, but finding the time to handle all the financial details
of the many businesses being established by her entrepreneurial
spouse.
Julia DiGiovanni’s life’s journey began in the shadow
of tragedy. In Mojave, CA in 1918, just months before her birth,
two of her older sisters died of the Spanish flu. Then, when Julia
was just 10-years-old, another sister died tragically. With that
death DiGiovanni became the eldest child in a family of emigrant
parents, who could neither read nor write English. Thus she was
designated to be, more or less, head of the family.
“I have had to be responsible
and self-sufficient since I was 10,” Julia recalls. “I
suppose that is why I was able to learn so much about the way
the business world operates.”
DiGiovanni’s business knowledge
had very brief beginnings in Bakersfield, CA, at Lufkins Business
College, where she worked her way through school. Upon graduation
she labored as a secretary for the Agricultural Extension Service
in the city courthouse there. Then when World War II came along,
she returned to Mojave to work for the American Red Cross - holding
Field Status at the Marine Corps Air Station. In 1947 she was
transferred to El Toro, CA, and it was there that she met Marine
fighter pilot and future husband, Tony DiGiovanni. Three years
later they were married and making their home in Laguna Beach.
In 1953 the young couple was transferred
to Naples, Italy. Both being of Italian descent they were thrilled
to have opportunity to explore Tuscany and Sicily, the birthplaces
of their parents.
“As we explored the small
villages of our parents’ births, I felt like I had been
there all my life,” Julia explains with emotion. “But
the biggest thrill of our time there was being able to bring my
parents to live with us for two months, and to experience their
joy at being able to return to their roots.”
 When
Tony received a medical discharge in 1955, the DiGiovannis were
renting a furnished home in San Clemente. They soon built a two-bedroom,
one bath house on Avenida Miramar, and finally settled in their
present home on Avenida Presidio in 1963.
Not one to be idle, Tony opened
his first business on Avenida Del Mar in 1955. Then, after establishing
two more businesses, in 1975 he began founding banks; the Bank
of San Clemente and Mariners Bank. All the while, standing quietly
in the background behind her man handling all the businesses financial
details, Julia DiGiovanni was learning the ropes.
Upon Tony’s death in 1991,
Julia began carrying on her husband’s legacy. She was voted
onto the Board of Directors of Mariner’s Bank, and in that
capacity helped set the bank’s policies. Soon Mariner’s
Bank was sold to Eldorado Bank where Julia also served on the
Board of Directors. Finally when Eldorado Bank was sold, DiGiovanni
became a Founding Director of the Pacific Mercantile Bank.
And this was just the beginning of a long list of the accomplishments
of this efficacious, young-at-heart lady.
Today, Julia DiGiovanni is a founding
member and currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Casa Romantica
Cultural Center. She served on the advisory boards for Laura’s
House and the San Clemente Srs., Inc. for several years, is a
member of the Board of Trustees for San Clemente Hospital and
Medical Center, and a member of the San Clemente Rotary Club and
the San Clemente Historical Society. She actively supports the
Cabrillo Community Theatre, is a member of the George M. Cohan,
Orange County Performing Arts Center, and most recently was named
“Citizen of the Year” for 2003.
Although living in the electronic
age, Julia still records all her business details and finances
by hand.
“I have a computer,”
she explains, “my grandchildren come over and use it, but
I don’t. I prefer doing everything by hand.”
Amidst all these activities DiGiovanni has still found time to
travel to some very unusual places. She has been on Safari in
Kenya, Africa, visited the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean,
seen Nova Scotia, Turkey, Greece and several places in the U.S.
But she says her most awesome trip was when she went to Antarctica.
“Visiting there was almost
a religious experience,” Julia recalls. “It was so
pristine, clean, quiet and peaceful, unlike any other place I
have ever been. Perhaps it is because it is at the southernmost
part of the world, the very end, and the only people there are
those who work in the experimental stations. It is hard to explain
the feelings I had there.”
One cannot help but respect the
many hats worn by Julia DiGiovanni - wife, mother, caregiver,
businesswoman, widow, grandmother, traveler and dedicated community
supporter. If the village is very lucky, those same hats, worn
by this respected and beloved San Clemente citizen, will be donned
and worn proudly by many more like-minded women. Women who have
come to town to live, work and serve, and hopefully to follow
in DiGiovanni’s footsteps. b
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