Monte Pistoresi, one of a kind

On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Madera lost one of its great leaders, a man of almost infinite compassion, and an over-the-top sense of humor. He will be missed by people who are concerned about health care in our county; he will be missed by everyone who cares about the message of Martin Luther King, Jr., he will be missed by every charity that benefitted from his endless generosity, and he will be missed by the thousands of people whom he touched during his extremely active lifetime.

I was not born in Madera, but I met Monte soon after I moved here in 1998 to teach at the Center that is now Madera College. A couple of years later, I became a member of the Kiwanis Club of Madera, founded in 1946. When people asked me, “What do you do for fun in Madera?” I responded, “I attend the Thursday luncheon meetings of the Kiwanis Club.” To a great extent, it was Monte who kept the members rolling with laughter.

At one time, we had two members who had a last name that was spelled identically but pronounced differently. The name was of Italian origin, and it was decided that we needed a committee of three to decide the correct pronunciation. Those chosen included Monte, Jan Flanigan, and me. Monte and I were both Italian Americans, but Jan was decidedly not. So, we decided to make her an honorary Italian. That involved a skit that terminated with Monte teaching Jan to drink from a bota. As you might have anticipated, the wine (actually it was grape juice) spilled all over her white sweater. (Spoiler: a week before the meeting, the three of us rehearsed, and Jan had picked up a white sweater at Goodwill for the occasion.)