Owning and operating one of the most successful supermarkets in the region didn't keep Ben Patricio from always being there for his family and his community.
The Los Banos native and outdoor enthusiast died on June 11. He was 93.
Patricio's father, Anthony Borges Patricio, established Patricio Grocery in 1923. When the elder Patricio died in 1962, his sons -- Ben and Anthony "Pat" Patricio -- took over the business. The brothers grew the firm and in 1975 entered into a unique arrangement with Save Mart Supermarkets. The brothers switched to the Save Mart name and became the supermarket chain's only franchise store.
Lynn Patricio, one of Ben's five daughters and a retired Save Mart store manager, said Save Mart's chairman and CEO at the time, was impressed by their integrity and how they treated people.
"Bob Piccinini would always tell me that this kind of merger or franchise would never have worked with anyone else, but my dad and uncle," she said.
Ben met Norma Paradiso, his wife to be, in junior high school. They were paired as mixed-double partners in tennis. "Dad said he was always so attracted to mom," said daughter Beth Bates.
The couple married in Aug. 1, 1948. The newlyweds' honeymoon was a road trip to Carmel, Monterey, and Lake Tahoe. The young couple camped and fished along the trip. They would have been married 73 years in August and were together for 78 years.
Running a major business is a taxing job, but Ben always had time available for his daughters. "Dad was my cheerleader through college," said Susan Patricio. "If I ever felt homesick or overwhelmed in my first year at the University of San Francisco, he would quickly drive to San Francisco for an encouragement dinner with me."
His daughters recalled memorable family road trips to Oregon, Washington, and Canada. There also were many vacation trips to Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove and Aptos.
Ben introduced his girls to deer and duck hunting, fly fishing and skiing. He lovingly taught them how to ski by first putting them between his legs and having them hold him as they went down the slope. "It was a very heart-warming way to learn how to ski," said Beth. "We've had many wonderful trips and we have many wonderful memories."
Ben was on-call as a Los Banos volunteer fireman for many years. His community service included memberships in the Los Banos Rotary Club and the California Grocers Association. Many awards and recognitions came Ben's way throughout the years. He was very proud of his induction into the Los Banos High School Historical Society Hall of Fame in 2012.
An avid fly fisherman, Ben fished in Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Mexico, Canada, and throughout California. A huge 21-pound steelhead hooked from Oregon's Umpqua River, landed Ben on the Sports page of the Los Banos Enterprise, Feb. 21, 2006 edition. "I had the greatest fishing of my life," he said.
Meanwhile, the Patricio-Save Mart partnership continued to blossom. The Patricios in 1987 built a new supermarket on Pacheco Boulevard. The Los Banos store was one of the highest volume stores in the Save Mart chain and remained in the top five stores while owned by the brothers.
After Pat's death in 1996, Ben decided to sell the business to Save Mart in 1998. He said it wasn't the same without his brother Pat.
A sister, Rosemary Patricio Woodruff; and son-in-laws Jim Bates (Beth); and Tim Sonnenburg (Susan); preceded Ben in death. He is survived by his wife, Norma Patricio; sisters Erma Frances "Frannie" Patricio Casella, and Natalene "Nini" Patricio Freitas; daughters, Susan Patricio Sonnenburg, Mary Jane Reed (Don), Lynn Patricio (Kristi), Beth Bates and Joan Bestone (Rick); 12 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. June 23 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 1621 Center Ave., Los Banos, with cemetery service to follow2. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Covenant Care Hospice, 125 N. Broadway Ave., Suite 1A, Turlock, CA 95380 and The American Cancer Society.

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