Dominic Francis DiMare
1912 - 2006

Dominic Francis DiMare, founder of The DiMare Co., died of respiratory failure on Sunday March 19, 2006 in Miami Florida. He was 94. Born January 4, 1912, Mr. DiMare started selling produce from a pushcart when he was 13 years old. He and his brothers, Anthony DiMare and Joseph DiMare built a produce company that is now nation's largest fresh tomato company with farming operations in California, Florida and South Carolina and repacking and sales operations in seven states. Anthony DiMare is the father of Paul DiMare, a leader in the Florida tomato industry and the father of FFVA Chairman Tony DiMare.

The last of 12 children, Mr. DiMare grew up on Boston's Hale Street in what was known then as the West End. As a young boy he played basketball and the violin. In later years, golf, tennis, and boating became his recreational pursuits. Throughout his life Mr. DiMare was an avid baseball fan who adored his Red Sox.

When the DiMare brothers began, grocery stores did not sell produce. Initially, Mr. DiMare sold his produce on the street. He and his brothers made deals with various grocery store owners to allow them to place their pushcarts in front of their stores.

"My father often told us about the early days when he and my uncles first began selling produce on the streets of Boston," recalls Thomas DiMare, Mr. DiMare's youngest son and president of DiMare-California. "One boy's job was to stand around the corner as lookout and he would whistle a song to warn the others when the truant officer was in sight."

"When my grandfather was still in his teens, the three DiMare brothers went to seek a loan at Pilgrim Trust bank in Boston, which later became part of the Bank of New England," remembers Dominic DiMare, one of Mr. DiMare's seven grandchildren. "Unbeknownst to the boys, they were too young to sign legal documents. However, the president of Pilgrim Trust admired them so much that he gave them the loan and personally signed the note for them. Eventually, my grandfather became one of Pilgrim Trust's largest accounts and was the first Italian-American to serve on its Board of Directors."

Mr. DiMare and his brothers were excellent marketers and used their talents to build the company that in 1928 became known as DiMare Brothers. As their business grew, DiMare Brothers expanded into a shop on Hale Street in Boston's West End and later into the Quincy market. Based on the success of their early years, Mr. DiMare and his brothers were able to open a wholesale produce business on C Street in South Boston. The large DiMare Brother's neon sign that hung over their building on C Street eventually became a land-mark for those who drove over the ship canal into South Boston.

Mr. DiMare used his financial skills to secure initial funding to open the Boston Market terminal in Everett. The terminal continues as a hub of regional produce trade. He was on the founding board of directors and served as president for many years.

In the early days of DiMare Brothers it was not uncommon for Mr. DiMare to work 20 hours a day. "My father and his brothers would start work at four in the morning, work until after five, change at the office and entertain customers until after midnight," according to Charles Dolan, Mr. DiMare's oldest son and president of DiMare-New England. "Often they would grab a few hours sleep on the benches used to sort and pack produce."

The relationships Mr. DiMare made in the West End and with various grocers would eventually allow DiMare Brothers to become the primary tomato supplier to both the Stop and Shop and A&P supermarket chains.

In an effort to gain greater control over the quality of their products the DiMares expended their business into farming, opening operations in Florida and Cuba. Mr. DiMare managed the company's Cuba operations. In 1950, Mr. DiMare began producing tomatoes in California's San Joaquin Valley, where Mr. DiMare established a tomato and pepper packing house in Newman. The packinghouse still remains one of the largest employers in the town.

"When my grandfather came to California he drove hundreds of miles through what was then desolate farm land to locate a suitable location for the packing house," said Jeffrey Dolan, Mr. DiMare's oldest grandchild and production manager for DiMare-California. "He made a lot of friends some of whom I still occasionally see more than 50 years later and who always have fond memories of my grandfather."

After leaving the West End Mr. DiMare moved with his parents to Belmont where they bought a duplex. Upon his parent's death, Mr. DiMare built a house on Woodbine Rd., on a lot he purchased out of an estate sale.

In 1952, Mr. DiMare married Collette Maggi, from Rome, Italy. Mrs. DiMare preceded Mr. DiMare in death in 1998. Early memories of Mr. DiMare's grandchildren are filled with Sunday dinners at their house in Belmont, MA.

In 1985, Mr. DiMare and his surviving brother Tony retired and sold the Company to their children. Mr. DiMare and his wife Collette split their time between Boston and Key Biscayne, Florida. Mr. DiMare refused to quit Boston entirely and will be returned for burial in the family plot along side his wife in Belmont.

Mr. DiMare is survived by his sons, Charles Dolan of Lincoln, MA, and Thomas F. DiMare, of La Quinta, CA, seven grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.