PASSINGS: Vincent N. Pompo
Vincent N. Pompo, 93, a leader in the tile-and-stone distribution industry, on July 14, 2020, of natural causes at his home in Leucadia, Calif.
Vincent M. PompoPompo started Southwestern Tile & Marble Company in San Diego in 1975, which became one of the largest and most-successful importers and distributors in the industry.
Pompo started his career in the tile business unloading boxcars at Gladding McBean, the manufacturer of Franciscan Tile and Dinnerware. He worked his way up from warehouse to sales to becoming a sales manager.
He was one of the founders of the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association (CTDA) in 1985, and also served as the group’s third president. He was inducted into the CTDA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Pompo remained a lifetime supporter of the tile industry and stayed very involved in growing the industry in many ways. He also worked with his son Donato at Ceramic Tile and Stone Consultants in Jamul, Calif.
Pompo was born on Nov. 21, 1926, in Los Angeles to Italian immigrant parents from Naples and Pescara, Italy. He married Patricia Ann Bronneberg in 1947 and celebrated 70 years together before her death in 2018.
He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II on the U.S.S. Plunkett, which protected troops in escort and assault operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In 2018, he was honored for his war service by being taken on the “Honor Flight” trip to Washington to tour our country’s most cherished war memorials.
He was a big hunter, going to Alaska a number of times for caribou, bear and other game. He annually went to Steamboat Springs, Colo., on elk hunts with his friend and fellow distributor Dick Sokol. He also was a big fisherman, casting for (and catching) salmon, tuna and marlin.
Pompo, a proud lifelong Catholic, was an usher at the St. John Evangelist Catholic Church in Encinitas, Calif., and a member of the fraternal Catholic Knights of Columbus.
He is survived by son Donato, daughters Lesah Mutscheller and Linda Perrenoud, six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Due to the coronavirus, the family is postponing a memorial to a future date to be determined.
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