Obituary: Albert Bianchi

Albert Bianchi, a prominent attorney who specialized in real estate law, died Tuesday in Santa Rosa.

He was 80 and had lived in Santa Rosa since 2001.

Over the past decade, he represented clients such as the Petaluma Valley Hospital and Pacific Theaters and he also served as a dispute resolution mediator in Santa Rosa.

He was born in Stockton to parents who had immigrated from Italy. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, rising to the rank of first lieutenant and infantry company commander in 1953.

He graduated from San Jose State University and obtained his law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1957.

After graduation, he served as a state deputy attorney general in Los Angeles and later went into private practice for five years in San Francisco.

He founded his own firm in Marin County, where he practiced law for 37 years. He served on the board of directors of the Marin County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, the YMCA, the Marin Symphony Association and the Marin Open Space District.

He taught real estate law classes at Indian Valley College and the College of Marin and taught planning and land use courses at the University of California extensions in Berkeley, San Franciso and Francisco.

He is survived by his wife, Linda Chambers Bianchi of Santa Rosa; sons Matt Bianchi of Marin County and Ben Bianchi, who lives outside California, and two granddaughters.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Mission San Rafael Archangel Church of St. Raphael, 1104 5th Ave., San Rafael. Burial will be in Mount Tamalpais Cemetery.

The family requests no flowers and suggests contributions to Heartland Hospice, 2455 Bennett Valley Rd, Suite B214, Santa Rosa, 95404 or to a local food bank.

— Bleys W. Rose