“Alex Cugini, Jr. was born on November 23, 1927 in Renton, Washington, as the only child of Italian immigrants Alessandro “Alex” Cugini, Sr. and Giuseppina “Josephine” Belmondo Cugini. Alex left us peacefully on Monday, March 14, 2016 in Renton, at the age of 88, having been surrounded continuously by friends and family since his sudden admission to the hospital, two days earlier.
He leaves behind his loving wife of over 60 years, Norma Jean Denzer Cugini, his three children, Robert (Mary), Crissa and Cathy (Sean), and two grandchildren, Alexander Anthony Cugini O’Neill and Isabel Josephine Cugini O’Neill.
Alex attended St. Anthony’s parish school until the eighth grade. As a sophomore at Renton High School, Alex met Norma Denzer, who was a freshman, in the Camera Club. Alex graduated in 1945 and attended the University of Washington that summer. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a cadet in the Naval Aviator’s Program and was transferred to the University of Pennsylvania that fall. He returned to the University of Washington and later graduated from the ROTC program as Company Commander.
As a child, Alex learned to play the accordion and, from 1946 until 1952, was an active member of the Musicians’ Association of Seattle, Local 76-493, AFM. With his own band, Alex performed regularly in ballrooms around the Seattle area and on radio, until the Navy recalled him into service in 1952.
During the Korean War, Alex served as the chief supply officer aboard the troop transport, General William S. Mitchell. He received special commendation as the best in the Pacific Fleet, for the quality of his food service during the numerous voyages between San Francisco and Tokyo.
Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1954, Alex resumed his work at Barbee Mill Company, the family lumber business in Kennydale, Washington. He and Norma were married at St. Anthony’s church on September 10, 1955 and moved into their newly constructed house on Renton Hill in July of 1956, where they later raised their three children. True to his naval training and love of the water, Alex began a lifetime hobby of pleasure boating. He joined the Seattle Yacht Club with Norma, enjoying the SYC outstations and other destinations from Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands to Canada and Alaska, aboard a series of boats, each in succession named the Altino, after a shrine near Bergamo beloved by his Italian ancestors.
Alex eventually took over the mill’s operations, rebuilding the mill after a devastating fire in 1957. He guided the company through changes in the industry that saw the gradual disappearance of the many other mills in the area, leaving the Barbee Mill as the last sawmill operation on Lake Washington. At the height of its operations, Barbee Mill Company employed over 225 union workers, shipping hundreds of railroad cars filled with lumber throughout the United States, and exporting timber products as far away as Japan, China and Europe. As a leader in the timber industry, Alex was active in the Western Forestries Industry Association; as an employer, he took pride in treating the people who worked for him with fairness and respect. He was a dedicated supporter of union labor.
Throughout his career, Alex devoted much of his time to civic improvements and local charities. As a member of the Rotary Club of Renton, Alex and the late Thor Henrikson launched the annual C.A.P.E.R. auction (“Community Auction Promoting Endeavors of Rotary”) in 1967, to raise funds for youth activities and other urgent community needs. As co-chairs, Alex and Mr. Henrikson performed an exhaustive analysis of similar fundraising projects throughout the region, like Seattle’s PONCHO, selecting and implementing the best practices of each. Alex served as President of the Renton Rotary from 1970-71 and remained an active supporter of the organization throughout his life. In 2013, Alex was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Renton High School. In 2015, he was honored by the Renton Community Foundation with a Lifetime of Giving Award.
Alex loved to travel and spoke fluent Italian. He enjoyed meeting interesting people from all over the world and he went to extra lengths to maintain friendships with them throughout his life. As he traveled, whether for business or pleasure, Alex collected lifelong friends, like Father Pat Spoletini, who received a donation of Barbee Mill lumber to build his Jesuit missionary base in Alaska, or Enrico Vaninetti and his family, makers of specialized saw blade machinery in northern Italy. Alex had many close and dear relatives in Italy, and he returned frequently to the Bergamo area to maintain those ties throughout his life.
Alex was a generous and gracious man who loved to introduce his family and friends to the many things he loved in life. At home here in the Pacific Northwest, Alex and Norma have enjoyed an extensive social life together, entertaining often and enjoying the company of close friends, many of whom they have both known since childhood. They have continued to make new friendships, most recently through their involvement with the Châine des Rôtisseurs. These friendships, and so many more, fueled by the sharing of good food, wine, music and humor, will continue to unite Alex’s family with his friends around the world who share in their sense of loss.
On Monday, March 21, 2016, Alex was committed to his final resting place in a private ceremony at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, where the graves of his parents, grandparents and so many other beloved family and friends are marked and remembered. There will be a Celebration of Life and memorial event in honor of Alex on Wednesday, April 6th, 2016 at 11:00 a.m., to be held in the Goodman Auditorium at The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center in Warren G. Magnuson Park, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations be made to the Cugini Family Fund held at the Renton Community Foundation, P.O. Box 820, Renton, WA, 98057. Donations may also be made online by selecting “Cugini Family Fund” from the drop-down list at www.rentonfoundation.org.
