Felice Bertarelli, 78, a founder of the nationally renowned Italia-America Bocce Club in the Hill neighborhood, died Wednesday (July 21, 2010) in his beloved mountain hometown of Carisolo, Italy.

Born in Carisolo, Mr. Bertarelli settled in St. Louis with his wife, Domenica, and their four boys in 1967, first setting up a knife sharpening business in a garage behind their Macklind Avenue home. His business, Bertarelli Cutlery, later moved to a building on Southwest Avenue, then Hampton Avenue and finally back to Marconi Avenue, where an extensive knife supply and sharpening business still operates under his sons and two grandchildren.

Mr. Bertarelli's route to St. Louis was unique. After World War II, he left his small town in the Dolomites mountains near Austria for Australia, where he worked as a timber cutter. Domenica, also a native of Carisolo, opted not to move with her family to the United States and instead traveled more than 30 days by boat to marry him in Australia in 1956.

"He married her that day she got off the boat," said his eldest son, John Bertarelli of St. Louis. "He was afraid she might leave him when she saw that he was basically living in a tent in the bush."

The couple and their children eventually moved to Kansas City, where Domenica's family had relocated and also established a cutlery business. Mr. Bertarelli permanently settled the family in St. Louis after purchasing Binelli Cutlery, already on the Hill.

Uncomfortable with English at first, Mr. Bertarelli found great companionship with six other neighborhood men who routinely played bocce at a bar, John and Rose's on the Hill.

"They were all Italian, and this was their way of hanging out together," his son said.

Known as the "Original 7," the group eventually formed the St. Louis Bocce Club in 1975 in a dilapidated building on Manchester Avenue populated by an occasional stray dog. Over the years the club grew in size and stature, and a new building was eventually purchased on Marconi to house what had evolved into the Italia-America Bocce Club. Last month, the club hosted the 2010 United States National Bocce Championship.

John Bertarelli said his dad was proud of the club, but he missed life in Carisolo. He and his wife retired there about 10 years ago. When he died Wednesday, the town of about 930 rang bells in his honor. Most of its residents escorted his funeral procession a mile in the rain Friday to a nearby cemetery.

A memorial service in St. Louis will take place at a later date.

In addition to his wife and eldest son, survivors include three other sons, Robert, Frank and Marco, all of St. Louis; 10 grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sick and Elderly of the Hill, 2315 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 63110.