Lita Q. Tognotti passed away peacefully on May 16, 2022, following a 31-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease.

She was born Lita Jean Quilici in Elko, Nevada and grew up in the nearby small town of Wells, Nevada, until leaving to attend Stanford University. 

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford in 1959, with a bachelor’s degree in French literature. In June of that year, she married her lifelong husband of 63 years, Bill Tognotti. Starting in late 1959, Bill and Lita lived in Orléans, France, where Bill was performing his military service. Their first two children, Marc and Michael, were born in France, where the family stayed until 1963. 

Lita and Bill subsequently moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, buying a home in Greenbrae, Marin County, in 1964, where their remaining children, Paul, Matthew and Rina were born. 

Lita worked as a devoted housewife in the tradition of years past. She always remained deeply dedicated to her Catholic moral upbringing and her family values.  One of the deepest pains in her life was when she lost her son Michael to suicide in 1994. 

Lita was fluent in Italian and French, trained as a concert pianist, and renowned as a gourmet cook specializing in Italian and French cuisines. 

In 2013, she wrote and published her own cookbook, “Dinner at Our House and Lunch & Breakfast Too,” which is available on Amazon.com.  She was known for her extraordinary graciousness at her dinner parties and in social conversation. 
In addition to her husband and four remaining children, Lita also leaves behind her brother, Dr. Nate Quilici, in Portland, Oregon, her daughters-in-law Kiki Do and Mehrnoosh Almassi, her son-in-law Sol Salzer, and her four grandchildren, Melia, Sofia, Sannam and Soraya.

The family wishes to express special gratitude to Cecilia Salazar, a home health aid who gave our mother excellent care and much love in the last months of her life. 

Lita is dearly loved by her family and friends and will be deeply missed. 
A memorial service and reception are being planned for Saturday, June 11,  at 2:00pm at Saint Dominic's Church in San Francisco.