January 9, 1932 – September 19, 2024
Marino Louis Rizzardo, 92, of Montague, CA, passed away peacefully on September 19, 2024, at Madrone Hospice in Yreka. Born on January 9, 1932, at home on the family ranch between Montague and Grenada, Marino lived a full life rooted in family, hard work, and his love for the outdoors.
From an early age, Marino worked alongside his mother, Ernesta, and his three siblings to keep the family ranch running after his father passed away when Marino was just four. The family milked 40 head of cattle by hand, raised pigs, and managed the ranch with the help of Cousin Joe “Ping” Morreto. At the age of 24, on October 9, 1956, Marino was drafted into the Army. Upon his return from service, his mother had sold the family ranch. Following this, he found work at a dry kiln in Montague and later took a job as a millwright and warehouse foreman at the Klamath Molding Mill. In 1966, he joined the bridge crew at the Siskiyou County Road Department, where he worked until his retirement in 1994.
