Francis James “Jim” Chinchiolo
California cherry industry leader remembered as an innovative visionary

California cherry industry veteran Jim Chinchiolo passed away Aug. 25 in Stockton after a lengthy illness. He was 86 years old. Born and raised in Stockton, Chinchiolo was a walnut and cherry grower as well as a longtime owner-partner and sales representative for Chinchiolo Fruit Co. He is best remembered for his efforts to help open the Japanese market to California cherry exports.

Chinchiolo attended the College of the Pacific after graduating from Stockton High School. He then served a year in the Army during World War II. In 1946 when he concluded his military service, Chinchiolo settled in Linden and purchased a walnut orchard there with his mother.

He also worked in the family’s cherry packing business, Chinchiolo Fruit Co., where he became an owner in 1947. He managed fruit sales for the company from 1947 until 1994 when he retired from the marketing side of the business.

Chinchiolo’s son Tom Chinchiolo said his father was a visionary. He said the elder Chinchiolo helped pave the way for California cherry exports to Japan, a country that today is California’s largest cherry export destination.

Tom said his father traveled to Japan in 1987 with four other shippers representing the California Cherry Export Association. The delegation met with governmental officials in Japan to work out details of the export protocol.

“He was very proud of the work they were able to do on behalf of the state’s cherry industry,” Tom said. “He had the foresight to see that the industry was growing and that California would need the Japanese market.”

Tom said his father’s futuristic outlook was “one of his greatest strengths.” Expansion of his cherry orchard plantings in 1997 into the southern San Joaquin Valley resulted after Jim became convinced that earlier-harvesting fruit would have great potential in the market.

Tom said his father also helped develop Sierra Hills Marketing in 1990 because he felt the cherry crop needed more of a year-round sales force. Sierra Hills Marketing also sold apples and pears for Sierra Hills Packing, located in Stockton.

When Chinchiolo Fruit Co. began to outgrow its original facility on Broadway Street in Stockton, Jim pushed to build a new packing plant. The new buildings were constructed in 1993 across the street from Sierra Hills Packing. The cherry packing company is still located there. A major share of Chinchiolo Fruit was purchased by tree fruit shipper Stemilt Growers Inc., Wenatchee, Wash., in 2003, and the cherry company was renamed Chinchiolo Stemilt California.

“My dad had the ability to look ahead at the potential of the cherry industry,” Tom said. “He anticipated the right things that needed to be done at the right time.”

Mike Collins, sales representative in Stemilt Growers’ office in Stockton, trained under Jim Chinchiolo’s instruction at Sierra Hills Marketing beginning in 1990. Chinchiolo worked side-by-side with Collins for nearly five years to teach him all about the California cherry business.

Collins said Chinchiolo was a “huge proponent of modernization in the industry. Change was always met with analysis and reason. I don’t believe I ever heard him say, ‘It can’t be done.’”

Chinchiolo retired from sales in 1994, but Collins said Chinchiolo continued to play an important role as his mentor and friend.

“Even after his retirement he would take time to listen to me,” Collins said. “His opinions and lessons were never dated, never critical, always insightful and experienced. He emphasized fairness and commitment, and it was a true pleasure to learn from him.”

Chinchiolo was a past member of Diamond Walnut and the California Cherry Export Association. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Sharon Chinchiolo, his sons Jim, Tom and Ron Chinchiolo, daughters Jacqueline Phillips, Kerry Xavier, and Patrick Dillon. Chinchiolo is also survived by several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Jim was preceded in death by his first wife Dorothy S. Chinchiolo, his parents James and Mary Chinchiolo, and his sister Catherine Sanders.

A celebration of Jim Chinchiolo’s life will take place Sept. 23. Donations in his remembrance can be made to Hospice of San Joaquin, American Heart Association or the charity of your choice.

Publication date: 9/6/2007

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