California Obituaries, Los Angeles County

Submitted by Peggy Hooper 

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The Downey Eagle

April 20, 2001 Volume 9 Number 9

L.A. civic leader John Ferraro mourned
LOS ANGELES-Funeral services are scheduled for Monday at St. Brendan Church in Los Angeles for 
John Ferraro, longtime president of the Los Angeles City Council and a force in Los Angeles politics 
since his first appointment to the Council in 1966 
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan said, "I know of no one who represents the heart and soul of 
Los Angeles more than John Ferraro. 
He was 76, born May 14, 1924 in Los Angeles, the youngest of eight children, and died at Saint John's 
Hospital and Health Center Tuesday, April 17. He had been battling cancer. His accomplishments 
included the improvements at the Los Angeles Zoo, the new Staples Center Arena downtown, the 
successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and the 2000 Democratic Convention here. 
He represented the City's Fourth District which includes North Hollywood, Griffith Park, Los Feliz, 
Silver Lake, Hollywood, Studio City, Larchmont Village, Hancock Park and the Miracle Mile. 
He attended USC where he won All-American stature in football at tackle. He played in three Rose 
Bowl Games with the Trojans, and was named to the National Football Hall of Fame in 1974, the 
USC Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1996. 
During World War II he interrupted his college studies to join the U.S. Navy. Commissioned an ensign, 
he served in the South Pacific on the USS Tomahawk and LST 237. 
Following the war, he returned to USC and earned a business degree, later opening an insurance 
brokerage in Los Angeles. He was appointed to the City Council to fill the vacancy left by the death 
of Councilman Harold Henry in 1966. 
He was named Ferraro Night Commander of Saint Gregory the Great in 1998 by Pope John Paul II, 
in recognition of his years of public service. 
He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Hart Ferraro, who died in January 2000. 
Survivors include his son, Lucky; two sisters and a brother. He was the brother-in-law of Downey's 
Rosemary Ferraro, and an uncle by marriage to Downey's Betty Ferraro. 
He visited Downey to administer the oath of office to members of the Downey School Board two 
years ago.