James Meade DeLoreto passed away on Memorial Day, May 29, 2017, at the age of 100. James DeLoreto was a resident of Santa Barbara since 1947 — when his father moved the family here from Connecticut and bought two lemon ranches that they later developed into Loreto Plaza — and during his lifetime was a World War II glider pilot, president of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association, a Santa Barbara city councilmember, Italian vice-consul for the city, and a member of many nonprofit boards.
James was born in Manchester, Connecticut, on September 10, 1916, the son of Emil DeLoreto and Elizabeth Meade DeLoreto. His father was born in Narni, Italy, and came to the U.S. in 1908. He was a butcher who had become dismayed working in Rome. He found out that no matter how hard you work, nepotism trumped good work ethics. He never returned to Italy. James’s mother, Elizabeth, was the American child of Irish immigrants.
James enjoyed living on the farm in Manchester. His father owned two cars: one a Model T and the other a Jeffery that held seven people. He always liked to take rides in them. When he was 9 years old, the family moved to Hartford, where he was brought up.
