Philanthropist Lois DeDomenico at her Piedmont, CA home
Piedmont philanthropist -- with a hidden Rice-A-Roni history -- to be honored at Women's Hall of Fame event
By Angela Hill
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 03/18/2011 12:00:00 AM PDT
Click photo to enlargeLois DeDomenico is photographed at her home in Piedmont Calif., on... ( Deeba Yavrom/Staff )«123»OAKLAND -- As the first inductee into the philanthropy category -- new this year at the 18th Annual Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame awards ceremony Saturday -- Piedmont's Lois DeDomenico will be honored for her extensive, years-long, ongoing support of many local charities and nonprofits, including Girls Inc., Chabot Space & Science Center, the new East Bay Community Foundation building in downtown Oakland, plus a current capital campaign to build a resource center for girls, and much, much more.
Oh, and she's the Rice-A-Roni lady, too.
"Well, I'd rather focus on philanthropy than the rice, but yes, that's me," the elegant, silver-haired woman said last week, seated on a sofa in her home with her longhair rag doll cat named Max flopping around in her arms.
And while DeDomenico would prefer to keep her role in developing the "San Francisco Treat" in the background, there's no denying it's a delightful story, immediately bringing cable cars and catchy commercials to mind.
Originally from Canada, she met her future husband in San Francisco in the 1940s. Tom DeDomenico was one of four sons of a turn-of-the-last-century Italian immigrant who worked with their father, Domenico "Charlie" DeDomenico, to develop the pasta business that would later be known as the Golden Grain Macaroni Company.
In 1946, Lois and Tom, young newlyweds, rented a room from an Armenian woman in the city. She taught Lois how to make rice pilaf, and
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it soon became a favorite at DeDomenico family dinners. Then in the '50s, Tom's brother Vince combined it with a chicken-soup mix made at the plant, plus rice and vermicelli, and named it Rice-A-Roni.
The Quaker Oats Company later purchased Golden Grain in 1986, and Tom DeDomenico passed away in 1992. But Lois DeDomenico, now in her 80s, still has people ask her about the product all the time.
"I go to a health spa once a year in Mexico, and even there I meet young women from all over the country who know about Rice-A-Roni and start singing the jingle," she said.
Lois DeDomenico is pleased, but surprised, at the Hall of Fame honor, she said, and defers recognition to other board members and staff of the groups she supports. She joined the board of Girls Inc. in Oakland several years ago, and thoroughly believes in the organization's mission to "inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold," she said.
"That really grabbed me, and I wanted to support that goal."
She most recently embarked on a capital campaign for a girls' resource center to be built in downtown Oakland. So far, the campaign is halfway toward its goal to reach $10.5 million for the center.
The 18th Annual Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame luncheon and awards ceremony will be held Saturday, at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland.
The program raises money for local charities addressing women's health issues.
The Women's Hall of Fame also sponsors a youth scholarship to help a girl or young woman further her education or training. Tickets to the luncheon and awards ceremony are $75. Call 510-272-6510 or go to www.acgov.org/cao/halloffame.
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