David Carbone started baking bread as a kid and didn’t stop for the rest of his life.
Carbone was 59 when he died unexpectedly Aug. 24 of heart failure.
The rosary will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, 3549 Navajo St., and the funeral at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the same location.
Carbone came from a long line of bakers. His father, Dominic Carbone, was part owner of the Carbone Italian Bakery at 3232 Quivas St. for years.
When the business burned down in the 1970s, David went to work for King Soopers’ bakery, where he worked almost 30 years. Most of that was at the King Soopers on South Holly Street and East Arapahoe Road in Centennial.
“He did gorgeous bread,” said co-worker Mary Wichter of Highlands Ranch. “And everybody loved him. He had tons of friends among the customers.”
Carbone also liked to sing as he worked, she said.
“He was so outgoing and helpful to people, whether it was listening to their problems, helping them with finances or telling people, ‘I will say an extra prayer for you,’ ” said Alice Hoffman, store administrative assistant.
He made special breads for store employees and favorite customers, she said. “He loved baking and was good,” said store manager Paul Conant. “It’s hard to find a seasoned baker these days.”
David Carbone was born in Denver on Nov. 20, 1948, and graduated from Manual High School. He served in the Army from 1968 to 1970.
He was married to Carol Gerk and they later divorced.
After the Army he went into the family business, owned by his father, uncle and grandfather.
The family isn’t related to the Carbones who owned Carbone Italian Sausage Co.
But David Carbone’s cousin, the late Richard Carbone, had Carbone’s Pizza Restaurant at West 36th Avenue and Tejon Street.
David Carbone had relatives on the other side of the family, Frank and Rose Fiori, who were also in the food business. They had a popcorn stand in City Park. It was set on fire, so they moved it to East 21st Avenue and York Street. The family later built an apartment building on the same spot and David Carbone lived there most of his life, said his brother, Philip Carbone of Denver.
When David Carbone went to work for King Soopers, he started at the bakery plant, then worked at stores in east Denver and Aurora before going to the Centennial store in 1984.
In addition to his brother, David Carbone is survived by two other brothers, Vincent Carbone and Paul Carbone, both of Denver.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
