V. Fontana & Company: Setting the Foundation in Stone

In a town just south of San Francisco, California, resides a city unknown to many: Colma. Colma, also known as the “City of the Dead,” is home to 17 cemeteries that occupy 73% of the city; in other words, the dead outnumber the living 1,000 to one. This tiny, yet unique town is home to V. Fontana & Co., my family’s monument business that has been in existence for 100 years come this April. The business was established in 1921 by my great-grandfather, Valerio Fontana, who emigrated from Italy to the United States in hopes of finding masonry work—the skill and livelihood of his ancestors. Since Valerio’s death in 1961, the family business has been passed down two more generations. What makes V. Fontana & Co. truly unique is the fact that it represents one century of service our family has provided in the U.S, all of which can be traced back to when Valerio originally established the business in 1921.

V. Fontana & Co. is specifically recognized for its custom manufacturing of all types of granite and marble products. Blocks of granite and marble are imported from quarries all over the world where they are transformed into products in our factory to meet customers’ needs. Valerio set the standards high for the business immediately when it first opened, using only the finest quality materials that would literally stand the test of time. Over the past several decades, the business has diversified beyond monuments as the demand to incorporate granite and marble in commercial and residential design has skyrocketed. V. Fontana & Co. is the successful business it is today because of Valerio’s determination to overcome both geographical and cultural boundaries to become accustomed to the American culture and to achieve the “American Dream.”

It all began in 1887, when Valerio was born in the small-town of Saint’ Andrea, located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. He was one of six children and was born into a destitute family. Valerio’s fathe required that all of his children work at a young age to lend support to the family’s struggling financial situation. He and his siblings did work that included various kinds of physical labor, one of which was stone cutting. Valerio not only had a knack for stone cutting, but also developed a passion for it. No matter how much work the children did, however, it barely made ends meet. Growing up with a close-knit family, Valerio took matters into his own hands and decided to leave Italy to seek job opportunities to provide a better life for his family. Valerio’s childhood in Italy instilled a strong work ethic in him, which was able to transcend the border with him when he came to North America. 

Starting a new chapter in life is intimidating, especially when traveling to unfamiliar territory. In 1911, Valerio exited Europe’s geographical border as he made his way to North America. Valerio relocated to Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where he enrolled in the Academy of Art and Art Crafts to further pursue his passion in stonecutting. Besides getting an education, Valerio also worked for McDonald Granite Company, which had been executing jobs under contract in Canada. Within a few years, Valerio had become the leading stonecutter at McDonald Granite Company. Meanwhile, in the United States, masonry had become an increasingly high demand skill. In 1918, Valerio relocated to San Francisco, California for work-related opportunities. By the end of Valerio’s time in Vancouver, he had truly left his mark on the city and built an impressive resume of work. His contributions included work on the war memorial in Stanley Park and on the Parliament Buildings in Victoria. He was ready to create a new chapter in his life, for he was determined to follow his dreams and become a successful businessman in America.

Once Valerio arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area, he was immediately offered work at McGilvray-Raymond Granite Corporation in San Francisco. This powerful corporation had large contracts to build San Francisco’s new city hall and public library. After spending a couple of years working for McGilvray-Raymond Granite Corporation and witnessing its success, Valerio was inspired to start a business of his own. He was aware that the town of Colma, just south of San Francisco, had a high demand for monuments for its many cemeteries. Valerio eagerly embarked on this new journey.

Colma, formerly known as Lawndale, was founded in the 1850s by gold prospectors. It eventually became a necropolis in the early 1900s when San Francisco implemented an ordinance forbidding any further human burials within its city limits. San Francisco began transporting bodies into Colma’s undeveloped land in 1912. Shortly after, Colma was dubbed with the title, “City of the Dead.” As time went by, there were an increasing number of burials, and consequently, more of Colma’s undeveloped land was established as cemeteries.

Being shrewd, Valerio grasped the opportunity to open his own masonry business to serve the town’s many cemeteries. He recognized that with the large number of deceased people being relocated to Colma, family and other survivors would want memorials to honor their loved ones. Unlike other cities where Valerie had worked, he found Colma to be centered around “death,” but in a celebratory type of manner. After purchasing a lot of land across from the Italian Cemetery in Colma in 1921, Valerio opened V. Fontana & Co. During the same time Valerio started his business, other businessmen also established several additional competing monument companies in Colma. Valerio viewed this competition as another challenge in his ambition of living the “American Dream.”

The business got off to a slow start, for V. Fontana & Co. could only acquire business contracts with the Italian Cemetery due to heritage ties. Even after a few years of living in America, Valerio still found himself facing cultural obstacles related to his Italian origin. In addition, V. Fontana & Co. had many competitors also eager for business. A few years later, Valerio decided to purchase more land located down the street from the original factory on the main thoroughfare. He created a “main office” to display his work, in hopes of encouraging more customer business; his efforts proved to be successful.

An unexpected challenge concerning health issues had a devastating impact on V. Fontana & Co. in 1961. During the early to mid-1900s, creating monuments was a laborious process. Granite would be blasted out of quarries all over the world and shipped to factories. Each monument was unique and done by hand using a chisel, a hammer, and a mallet. Without proper protection, silicosis would be contracted through the inhalation of granite dust; this happened to be the cause of death of Valerio in 1961. Silicosis began to become a growing health concern for factory workers in the granite industry. Valerio’s death was considered another obstacle faced by those dedicated to the business that inspired them to work harder towards making it successful, so as to make Valerio’s death not in vain.

The strong foundation for which Valerio established the company is what paved the way for its future success. Valerio’s children, Elio and Gloria, took over the family business after their father’s passing. His idea of the “American Dream” had been accomplished, as he built a company around strong family ties, his trademark masonry skills, high quality materials, and his ability to persevere. In the intervening years, V. Fontana & Co. grew and surpassed other local monument companies, even during the Great Depression, the depression of the 1950s, World War II, and the Korean War. During the Great Depression when the business faced monetary challenges, A. P. Giannini, founder of Bank of America, granted Valerio a loan—over the phone—which was very rare considering the country’s current economic situation at the time. This loan is what helped keep the business alive and thriving during that time.

Valerio’s son, Elio, learned the masonry trade from Valerio, and like his father, was an accomplished artist who took over designing the monuments. On top of being a talented artist, he was also an excellent salesman, gaining many new contracts with various cemeteries in Colma due to his keen personality and smart business sense. He was determined to carry on his father’s dream and expanded to become the leading monument company in the Bay Area. Subsequently, Elio’s children, Mark and Valerie (Valerio’s namesake), also became involved in the family business. Even after Valerio’s death, V. Fontana & Co. continues to be a business strictly built on strong family values. 

What proved to be an even bigger test of the company’s groundwork that Valerio so proudly built occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. Fabrication plants in Colma started to shut down due to the high cost of maintenance during this time. This caused many competing monument companies to close their doors including V. Fontana & Co.’s main competitor, L. Bocci & Sons. During this time, V. Fontana & Co.’s factory remained open and continued to thrive. 

In the 1980s, Elio’s son, Mark, took over V. Fontana & Co. Mark was determined to continue to keep his grandfather’s legacy alive through the business. As Mark ran the business over time, he established many important cemetery partnerships and steered V. Fontana & Co. in a new direction— commercial and residential work—as well as continuing Valerio’s original purpose, memorial monuments.

The company has been able to advance with the times and technology; however, it still maintains the same high standards of service and customer satisfaction that Valerio instilled in the company when it was originally founded. Today, the factory contains a diamond saw, diamond saw wire, sandblaster, surface blaster, surface polisher and top end polisher, dust collector, and two compressors (one of which is the original that Valerio himself used). Though many monument techniques have stayed the same, many things have also been modernized. For example, V. Fontana & Co. still makes rubbings on headstones (as it has always been done) to get exact lettering and spacing; however, with the latest technology, monuments that usually took weeks to complete during Valerio’s time, can now be achieved in a day. As it was when Valerio opened the business in 1921, V. Fontana & Co. continues to use only top-quality granite and marble imported from all over the world. Although V. Fontana & Co. has modernized much of the way it operates the business, the backbone of the business still roots back to Valerio’s aspirations.

Mark still owns and runs V. Fontana & Co., and his two daughters, Theresa and Stephanie, are active with the business as well. Thanks to Valerio’s hard work and determination, V. Fontana & Co. is considered one of the most recognized granite and marble businesses in Northern California that has won numerous awards and acknowledgements. It is currently the last self-contained fabricating plant in the West Coast and one of eight throughout the entire country. Part of Mark’s way of keeping Valerio’s legacy alive includes giving back to the community by doing work for charities and non-profit organizations. My great-grandfather came to the U.S. with nothing, but with determination, skill, and the help of other people, he was able to create a successful business and live out his dream. My family views the business as a constant reminder about our historical ties to Italy and fully appreciates Valerio’s hard work to achieve his “American Dream.” Theresa and Stephanie plan to take the business into the next generation and expand it to make it even more successful. Although the business provides a service to families under challenging circumstances, V. Fontana & Co. has continued to provide excellent services and final memorializations for loved ones who have passed. If Valerio could see what the business has become today, he would be nothing less than proud to see his family continuing his legacy. V. Fontana's business motto: “to honor a lifetime for lifetimes to come,” is truly what the company has done and will continue to do as it carries on into its fourth generation.