Rino Buonamici 

          Rino Buonamici passed away November 6, 2018 in Richland, WA after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.  He was born in Ponte Buggianese, Italy.  He lived through World War II in Europe and on August 22, 1946 at the age of 17 set sail for America.  He graduated from Reno High School in 1948 and graduated from the University of Nevada in Reno in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in  Mechanical Engineering.  From 1948 to 1952 he served in the Air National Guard of the U.S. and the Air National Guard of Nevada.

          On June 19, 1954 Rino married the love of his life, Diane, and celebrated 62 years of marriage.  After Rino and Diane were married they moved several times before making their home in Kennewick, WA in 1974.  Rino worked for Lockheed Martin and then Aerojet where he worked on the Lunar module that landed the first man on the moon.  After moving to Kennewick he worked for Westinghouse out at the FFTF Plant.

          Rino loved and cherished his time he spent with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Rino was an excellent artist and enjoyed spending hours working in his yard and house.  He also spent a fair amount of his time hunting and fishing.  Dad will always be remembered for his trips back and forth to Sears to buy tools to add to his already large collection.

          Before his illness Dad loved his daily visits to McDonald’s socializing with all his friends.  It seemed everywhere he went people knew him and loved him till the day he left us.

          Rino was preceded in death by his wife Diane of 62 years and his parents Nello and Louise Buonamici.

          Rino is survived by his children Robert Buonamici (Denice) of Carson City, NV and Cheryl Engel (Donald) of Yakima, WA; grandchildren Jolene Tran of Carson City, NV, Matthew Engel (Cassandra) of Richland, WA, Ryan Engel (Veronica) of Kennewick, WA; great grandchildren Asia, Bella, Ethan Joshua, Vanessa, Logan, Emma and Jace; his sister Clarina Egan of Reno, NV and brother Enzo Buonamici of Reno, NV.

          The family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale Torbett Richland, The Visiting Angels and Heartlinks Hospice for the care, support and love given to Rino and his family.  We would also like to thank Tara for all the care, love and time she spent with our dad to help make his last years so fulfilling.

          The family will hold a Celebration of Life Service Saturday, November 24, 2018 at noon at Einan’s at Sunset, 915 ByPass Hwy in Richland.

          In lieu of flowers the family request you make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation in honor of his memory.