Marco Magnano Sr. ran family's Napoleon Company

When his children were young and attended St. Anne's Catholic School in Queen Anne, every year Marco Magnano Sr. would take all the school's nuns out in his boat, through the Ballard Locks.

It was a time when nuns were in full black habits "and it was quite a scene at the locks, all the nuns on the deck," said his daughter Patricia Magnano Madsen, who lives on Bainbridge Island and New Zealand.

Mr. Magnano died Nov. 13 at his home in Bayview Manor on Queen Anne Hill. He was 95.

Born in Seattle, Mr. Magnano was the son of Antonio Magnano, who moved to America from Italy in the late 1890s and founded the family business originally known as A. Magnano & Sons in 1903, but today is known as the Napoleon Company, familiar to many in the Northwest for its Napoleon olive oil.

He and his brother, Angelo Magnano, took over the business when their father died in 1951, expanding it and adding to its product line. They added such things as anchovies, balsamic vinegar and artichokes and expanded into several Western states.

The company is now in its fourth generation of Magnanos.

Mr. Magnano worked in the family business all his life, said his son Marco Magnano, from Seattle. "He was a strong, quiet family man," his son said. "He loved boating and Puget Sound and he traveled whenever mom could coax him out of Seattle."

Mr. Magnano graduated from the University of Washington. He was a member of the Seattle Yacht Club, the Washington Athletic Club and the Seattle Golf Club.

According to son Marco, he and his father would often go fishing. While out on the water, they would conduct taste tests on food that was given them to determine if they were possible products for their business,

He said Mr. Magnano loved to eat at the Taco Time on Elliott Avenue and was one of the restaurant's oldest customers. His son said Mr. Magnano kept trying to duplicate Taco Time's hot sauce but never could. "He loved his tacos," he said.

Daughter Patricia said she also went fishing with her father, and even when she was a child he would let her take the boat through the locks by herself.

Her father, she said, kept things immaculate.

"You could eat a meal off the engine floor, it was so spotless," she said.

She said her father lived a good, long life. "I think he was getting tired," she said. "God listened to him and said, 'Marco, you've been here long enough.' "

In addition to his son and daughter, Mr. Magnano is survived by daughter Jean Magnano Bollinger of New York and son Milo of La Quinta, Calif.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at St. Anne's Church, 1411 First Ave. W., Seattle.

The family asks that contributions in his name be sent to Seattle Preparatory School, 2400 11th Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com