Julius Giraldi was a fixture in Westminster, just like his PaPa J’s Italian Restaurant.
Giraldi, who with his wife, Antoinette Giraldi, opened the place in 1976, died May 21 at a care center. He was 93.
Visitation will be today from 4 to 8 p.m at the Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary Chapel, and the funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, 3549 Navajo St.
PaPa J’s, at West 76th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard, is known for its traditional Italian fare, autographed drawings of celebrities on the walls and Julius Giraldi’s serenading of diners with classical and romantic numbers on his violin.
Many of the drawings, of various sizes, are signed by the stars, including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Debbie Reynolds and Bing Crosby.
Giraldi didn’t exactly know these people, but he made sure they had a chance to meet him.
When he heard of a celebrity’s upcoming visit, he would go to the place where the person was performing and manage to reach the star to ask for an autograph on the drawing. “He knew a lot of people, had a lot of connections,” said his son Mark Giraldi of Arvada.
A 1987 Denver Post review of the restaurant said it caters to “John Q. Public” tastes, rather than being a place that tops pizza with “caviar and elk meat.”
Antoinette Giraldi did most of the cooking, family members tended bars and Julius Giraldi took care of the front end. His favorite meal was lasagne and spumoni, said Yvonne Moya of Golden, one of the four family members who now own the restaurant, which has had four locations in the northwest metro area.
The first restaurant seated 40; the current one seats 250.
Giraldi retired in 1987, but he came in for years to visit with friends.
Julius Cesar Giraldi was born in Denver on Aug. 16, 1916, and was reared in north Denver. He graduated from North High School.
In 1941, he married Antoinette Bavaro. She died in 2001.
Giraldi had two long careers before he took up with pizza. He worked as an electrician for the Rio Grande Railroad for 25 years and a like amount of time for Western Davis, a liquor distributor, where Giraldi was a merchandiser.
He also played with the Denver (now Colorado) Symphony and had a small dance band in the 1940s and 1950s, his son said.
In addition to his son, Giraldi is survived by two other sons: Ray Giraldi and Nick Giraldi, both of Arvada; a daughter, Bernadette Giraldi of Henderson; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
