Louis Dorcich
Obituary
Louis Dorcich
Louis Martin Dorcich, a longtime Saratogan and owner of one of Saratoga's last private fruit orchards, died on Sept. 22, in his Quito Road home. He was 85.
A native Californian, Dorcich was born Oct. 6, 1914, in Watsonville. In the mid-1920s, his family moved to 60 acres of orchard property in Santa Clara, off El Camino Real. Along with selling freshly picked fruit, the Dorciches also opened and operated Dorcich's Market in the Beverly-Burbank area of San Jose. Dorcich began work as an apprentice butcher there and eventually took over the store's meat market in 1937. He would later work as a butcher at Gene's Quito Market in Saratoga.
In 1937, Dorcich also married Helen Anders, his wife of 54 years who predeceased him in 1991. Due to the demands of their expanding family, the couple moved to larger property on Winchester Boulevard and later to an orchard on Quito Road in Saratoga, where they remained. At the time, the land was covered with dead peach and apricot trees. The family went to work tearing out the old trees and planting a variety of new fruit trees and vegetables.
Many current and former West Valley residents will recall Dorcich and other family members selling fresh fruit from a welcoming stand at the edge of their driveway on Quito Road. In fact, Dorcich and the stand were featured in the June 21 issue of the Saratoga News. Known especially for his home-grown cherries, plums and figs, Dorcich also sold strawberries "imported" from Gilroy.
Along with his agricultural work, Dorcich put in more than 50 years of service to numerous organizations.
He was a 32nd degree Mason in the John P. Jarman Lodge 669 and was a member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in San Jose, the San Jose Shrine Club of Islam Temple, the Los Gatos Camel Herders, the Croatia Napredak Association of San Jose and the Roselawn United Methodist Church in San Jose. Dorcich was also a founding member and past president of the Beverly Burbank Lions Club and a member of the Butcher's Union Local 428. During World War II, he served in the State Guard, a home militia that provided security forces along the San Francisco waterfront and bridges.
Survivors include sons Louis of Watsonville, Roy of San Jose, Marty of Campbell, David of Sunnyvale and Richard of Germany; daughters Marilyn White of Anborn, Raeanne Lanphear of San Jose, Louise Darlin of Portland, Ore., Jeanne Dorcich of Chico, Donna Dorcich of San Francisco and Vickie Berendsen of Sunnyvale; also 14 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Memorial services have been held.
Donations may be made to Shriner's Hospital for Children, 2425 Stockton Blvd. Sacramento, 95817.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
