Rudy Mapelli Jr., the last of his generation of a well-known Denver family, died Feb. 14. He was 93.
Mapelli went from working as a butcher in an uncle’s business to becoming a successful drapery maker.
Mapelli’s wife, Martha, began making drapes in their basement, and the income from that convinced her husband “that draperies could become more than a mom-and-pop venture,” family members said.
They then opened Mapelli Draperies. Their biggest contract was with the new Air Force Academy, where the business itself hung all the draperies, said their son Rudy Mapelli III.
“They hustled to get the drapes made, putting on three shifts of workers,” said son Rudy. “Mom had the final say about what left the building. She was a quality seamstress.”
Their business then grew “dramatically,” expanding to home decoration, their son said.
Also, they sold to several local department stores.
Mapelli always had ideas for making money, recalled daughter Sharron Schmidt of Wheat Ridge. As a teenager, Mapelli and a cousin decided to grow some mushrooms to make money. They considered the venture a “success,” said Schmidt.
The problem was they grew the mushrooms in vats their uncles used to make wine — the boys didn’t thoroughly clean the vats, so the wine made later was no good.
“He was always a hard worker and, like everyone, wanted to give us (children) what he never had,” said son Michael “Mick” Mapelli of Lakewood.
Success was deeply ingrained in the family psyche. Rudy Mapelli Sr. and his six brothers and sisters had been sent to America by their parents in Italy.
All the siblings ended up settling in Denver, where a relative lived.
Rudy Mapelli Sr. had been held at Ellis Island for a while because officials couldn’t figure out the meaning of “DENCOLO” on his luggage tag. Someone finally realized it stood for Denver, Colo.
Rudolph Marco Mapelli Jr. was born in Denver on Feb. 3, 1918. He graduated from North High School and worked for an uncle’s meat business, H. Mapelli & Sons.
That family job determined what he would do in the Army during World War II: While enlisting, he was asked what kind of work he did. “I’m a butcher,” he replied.
So he was assigned to be a medic “because he can stand the sight of blood,” said his daughter.
Rudy Mapelli Jr. married Martha Ward in June 1940, and they had three children. They divorced, and she died in 1991. In 1978, he married Connie Maher, who died in 2000.
In addition to his children, Mapelli is survived by three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
