Sonoma salutes Earl Broderick, 1959 - 2020

Funeral procession honors unsung hero of 2017 wildfires.|

One hundred and fifty construction vehicles, moving slowly with horns honking, motorcaded through the Valley from Sonoma Raceway to Duggan’s mortuary last Thursday, passing Broderick General Engineering en route.

They were following the hearse that brought the late Earl Broderick back to Sonoma from San Francisco International Airport. Broderick, 61, died on April 27 in Mexico, where he sought alternative treatment for cancer during the final days of his life.

Friends, family and employees who were not driving one of the company’s dump trucks, pickups and flatbeds in the solemn procession, gathered to pay tribute as the hearse passed by Broderick’s engineering yard on Eighth Street East, the company he owned and where he served as its chief operating officer for almost 30 years. Most of the company’s 80 employees were unaware he was ill until they learned of his passing.

“Everyone was in shock and devastated when they found out,” said Jeff Carlson, the company’s general superintendent who worked with Broderick for 27 years. “He was the most giving person I ever met.”

In addition to being well known for his company’s site preparation engineering, Broderick was appreciated for the contribution he made toward saving Sonoma during the 2017 firestorms. At the request of Cal Fire, he sent all of his dozers, water tenders and trucks, with his employees operating them, out to help fight the fires throughout the Valley.

“Earl was my best friend and the best man I have ever known,” said his brother Patrick Broderick, a Sonoma County superior court judge. “He was a philanthropist who contributed to many Sonoma Valley nonprofits and he was always, always helping others. He was a mentor to many people.”

Broderick was a lifelong resident of the Sonoma Valley, attending Dunbar Elementary School, Altimira Junior High and Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, where he was a starting lineman on its championship football team. He graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in combined sciences. He then pursued an engineering career and established his company.

Broderick was an athlete and outdoor enthusiast who completed triathlons, snow skied, fished for salmon, dove for abalone and piloted his own plane. He was also a NASCAR enthusiast, so it was fitting that the procession in his honor started at the raceway.

In addition to Broderick Engineering employees, drivers from BoDean Company, Thomas Anderson and Co., Manzoni Trucking, Hadley General Engineering, Hahn Construction and others participated in procession that drove off the raceway property onto Highway 121 after the hearse rounded the bend off Highway 37.

“Earl was a father figure to so many people,” said Dave Casella, a longtime friend of Broderick’s who has also worked for the company for five years. “So many people got their start working for him. Lots of guys who grew up to be great men learned from Earl. He was always available to talk. He was great under pressure and he could handle anything. I’ve never known a finer man.”

Nils Derickson, who worked for Broderick before becoming a Cal Fire heavy equipment operator at the Glen Ellen station, recalled Broderick’s contributions during the 2017 fires. “He called and asked how he could help and then he orchestrated getting all his guys together and sent them out there with his equipment. He was running around helping the community and he didn’t expect anything in return,” he said.

Broderick Engineering specializes in earthwork grading and excavation and underground construction. It has prepared land for many wineries including Donum Estate Wines, Domaine Chandon, Joseph Phelps Winery, Lasseter Family Winery and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It also counts many Sonoma construction companies as customers including Bruce Tucker, Davis-Reed, Eames, GMH, Mangiantini Construction and Molofsky Builders.

Broderick is survived by his longtime girlfriend Marianne Marshall and three adult children, Tom Broderick of South Carolina, Michelle Broderick of Corte Madera and Kristin Broderick of San Francisco.

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