OBITUARY : John Delmonte Was Civic Leader, School Supporter

John Delmonte, a Glendale civic figure and longtime schools supporter, died April 15 of a heart attack. He was 78.

A native of New York City, Delmonte was an engineer. He moved to Glendale in 1940 and founded two Los Angeles companies: Furane Plastics in 1947 and Delsen Testing Laboratory in 1953. He wrote nine books and 500 technical papers on plastics engineering, and held more than 20 patents. He sold Furane in 1972 but remained as chairman of the board of Delsen until his death.

Delmonte and his wife of 57 years, Janet, started the Delmonte Scholarship Fund for top math and science students at Glendale Community College in 1967. In 1972, the Delmontes began the annual Delmonte Scholarship Award for the top boy and girl students at Glendale High School.

Delmonte was also active on the boards of the Glendale Symphony Orchestra Assn., the Glendale Memorial Hospital Cancer Center and Glendale Community College.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, James Delmonte of Hawaii; and two daughters, Jocelyn Delmonte of Carmel and Judy Alexis Parks of Boulder, Colo.; nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church, 1760 N. Gower St, Hollywood. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be sent to the Delmonte Scholarship Fund at Glendale Community College.