John Giumarra, Officer in Family Wine Business

John Giumarra Sr., the youngest of four brothers and a brother-in-law who took a tiny Los Angeles produce company and built it into the state’s largest table grape grower, died of cancer Tuesday in Bakersfield at age 71.

Giumarra joined older members of his family who had come to the United States in 1912. They had been selling oranges off a truck in downtown Los Angeles, and as they accumulated capital, they gradually brought the family to this country from Sicily.

Arrived in 1922

John arrived in 1922, and by 1930 the Giumarras had opened a Los Angeles wholesale produce house still in existence.

The family employs as many as 3,000 workers at peak season and has 15,000 acres under cultivation, one of the largest agribusinesses in the nation.

John Giumarra was primarily responsible for marketing and became the driving force in the family’s wine operations, managing Giumarra Vineyards Inc. until his death.

“He had an outstanding feel for what it took to sell something,” said Bruce Obbink, president of the California Table Grape Commission who credited Giumarra with helping start the commission, which promotes sales of fresh table grapes.

Giumarra Vineyards Inc. opened a winery in 1946 and is one of the nation’s largest table grape growers and shippers, featuring Grape King and Arra brands.

Leading Packer, Shipper

The Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co. remains a leading packer and shipper of fresh peaches, plums and nectarines. Giumarra International exports California produce around the world.

Giumarra is survived by his wife, Shirley, and their seven children; three brothers, Joseph, George and Alfred, and a sister, Esther Corsaro.

Rosary will be recited today at 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Bakersfield. A funeral is scheduled Saturday at 10 a.m. at Hillcrest Memorial Park chapel in that city.