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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E68]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE OF KATHLEEN WEBER
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HON. JARED HUFFMAN
of california
in the house of representatives
Friday, January 24, 2020
Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Kathleen Weber,
who passed away on January 18, 2020, at the age of 75 after a lifetime
of public service to her community.
Born in Santa Rosa on August 27, 1944, Kathleen was raised by her
father who worked in the insurance industry and her mother who designed
costumes for the Santa Rosa Junior College theater program. She met and
fell in love with Ed Weber at in the theater program at Santa Rosa
Junior College and married him in 1964. Kathleen worked in the medical
field and the former Mattei Brothers clothing store, before embarking
on what became an outstanding and renowned baking career.
Kathleen's father-in-law introduced her to baking bread on his
personal wood-burning oven. This quickly became a full-time hobby for
Kathleen, which blossomed into a profession through study under
renowned brick-oven baker Alan Scott. The Webers fashioned their own
oven based on Mr. Scott's design, and proceeded to launch a business
that has since been credited with renewing the appeal of slow-rise
bread regionally. Their biggest break came when they became the bread
supplier to Thomas Keller, world famous chef and owner of French
Laundry restaurant. Mr. Keller later became a close friend and
collaborator with the Webers.
In 2004, the Webers opened Della Fattoria as a breakfast, lunch, and
weekend brunch restaurant where Kathleen worked tirelessly to welcome
patrons and give back to her hometown community. Around 2016, the
Webers' son, Chef Aaron, started a prix-fixe dinner menu focusing on
the farm-to-table method Kathleen had started with Della Breads, and in
2018, added to it a full dinner menu. In 2019, Della Fattoria undertook
a large dining hall expansion onto two adjacent properties, and their
daughter, Elisa, oversaw the interior design and fabrication of the
furniture, making the business venture another full family effort.
One of the first on the West Coast to commercially produce bread
using the brick oven process, Kathleen and her family took local door-
to-door offerings into a regional and high demand delicacy. She became
a published author with ``Della Fattoria Bread,'' a recipe book seeking
to make high-quality baking more accessible to the home cook. In
addition to her culinary contributions to the community and support of
the local food movement and local business chamber, Kathleen's public
service expanded to include providing meals to first responders in
Petaluma during the Sonoma County wildfires. She is credited for always
looking for new ways to get Petaluma on the map.
Kathleen is survived by her husband Ed, her two children Aaron and
Elisa, and her two grandsons Jakob and Samuel. While she will be
greatly missed by many, Kathleen Weber's legacy will live on through
the indelible positive impact she had on this community and beyond.
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