A beautiful, smart, fun, warm, and welcoming 91-year-old Margie Bocchi sat gracefully regaling me with stories of family, community, and Klamath history during our visit.

One would never know that it was a gray day outside — as she filled the room with warmth, kindness, charm, and grace.

A Room Filled with Memories

We were surrounded by photos of her family — the pride and joy in her life:

  • Weddings
  • Baptisms
  • Travels
  • Award ceremonies
  • Days at the Lake of the Woods

Some are black and white, others in color — many that made us giggle about the hair styles and fashions of the day in which they were photographed.

They are beautiful representations of a life well-lived and a woman so well-loved.

A Family of Generations

Margie is the mother of nine children and has been blessed with 38 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren.

Read that again. 84 direct descendants spanning four generations.

That's the legacy of a 91-year-old Klamath matriarch.

How Margie Got Here

Margie was one of five children who moved here from Texas when she was 17 years old.

A gal pal of hers from Klamath Union — who worked as a clerk at a local grocer — would often gush to Margie on how handsome and nice the young man was who delivered Coca-Cola to the store.

Meeting Leo

It was not long after her high-school graduation — when Margie was working as a stenographer and legal secretary — that she officially met that man, Leo J. Bocchi.

Leo — a decade older — was:

  • Hardworking and handsome
  • Deep Italian family roots
  • Had attended the University of Washington
  • Joined the Navy and went to war — as a crew chief on a bomber

An Idyllic Courtship

The soon-to-be lovebirds had an idyllic courtship — simple and serene.

Margie wistfully remembers sailing in Leo's little wooden boat and countless picnics on the lakes around the basin.

The Bocchi Business Empire

The businesses that Leo built — and that Margie supported as bookkeeper — grew into a substantial Klamath Basin enterprise.

The businesses today are housed in Quail Mountain Inc. (QMI) and include:

The Beverage Franchises

  • Pepsi Cola franchise for Klamath & Lake Counties in Oregon and Modoc County in California
  • Dr. Pepper franchise for the same territory

Vending and Coffee Service

Quail Mountain Coffee and Vending — operates in:

  • Klamath, Lake, Jackson, and Josephine Counties in Oregon
  • Modoc and Siskiyou County in California

Storage

QMI recently branched out into storage with A & B Central Storage here in Klamath Falls.

These business enterprises operate across southern Oregon and northern California — and are headquartered right here in the Klamath Basin.

It all started originally as Crater Lake Beverage Company — and they retain the original name to this day.

Faith — The Foundation of Margie's Life

Margie was baptized into the Catholic Church — where she and Leo were married.

Next to meeting and marrying Leo, she credits the Catholic Church as foundational to her life:

"Finding the church was truly one of the best things that ever happened to me. It is my joy, my peace, my happiness — and was such an important part of our life, together as a couple and as a family." — Margie

The Nine Children — 1952 to 1968

From 1952 to 1968, the Bocchi Family grew… and grew… and grew.

Margie and Leo happily welcomed their nine children into their lives:

  • Tony
  • Jay
  • Randy
  • Steve
  • John
  • Thomas
  • JoAnne
  • Judy
  • Barbara

For 16 years she fondly recalls having children "at her skirts."

A Front Yard Full of Life

Margie recalls that her front yard was quite the sight:

"The yard was filled to overflowing with bats, balls, roller skates, sleds, neighbors, and laughter. Such a precious time of life." — Margie

The daily logistics of running a household of 11 people:

  • Four loads of laundry daily
  • Three-to-four gallons of milk per day
  • Dozens of sandwiches
  • Family meal prep
  • Nine healthy, hearty packed school lunches

That's the invisible labor of a Klamath Basin matriarch running a large family operation — alongside the bookkeeping work Margie did for the family business.

The Nine Children — Where They Are Now

Three of the Bocchi boys work in the business:

  • Tony — Chief Financial Officer
  • Steve — Sales Specialist
  • John — General Manager

The other six children pursued varied paths:

  • Jay — Radiologist
  • Thomas — Pilot
  • Randy — Ran the trucks at Pepsi, then bought his own business, now retired
  • JoAnne — Designer
  • Judy — Artist
  • Barbara — Homemaker

Each young Bocchi learned early on that their work ethic and knowing about the business from the ground up would be essential to the company's success in the future.

The Next Generation Carrying It Forward

Grandsons Daniel and Collin Bocchi are working their way up the management ranks to continue to carry the company forward 71 years later.

That multi-generation business continuity — from Leo to his sons to his grandsons — is what makes Quail Mountain Inc. one of the Klamath Basin's most enduring family-owned enterprises.

"We Did Not Take Family Trips"

"We did not take family trips in the summer. The kids sorted bottles, learned routes and processes — when the kids were very young, Leo wore all the hats in the organization, and we had four-to-five trucks on the road. I supported the effort by serving as our bookkeeper." — Margie

That dedication — the kids working the business through summers, the parents serving the entire operational structure of the company — is what produced both the financial success of QMI and the work ethic every Bocchi child carries.

Losing Leo — 1988

The commercial expansion and family operation was exciting and fulfilling.

However, in 1988, the Bocchis' world came crashing down — when Leo was killed in an automobile accident on the southside bypass while returning to the Pepsi plant after a delivery.

"I remember he kissed me twice that morning, in the kitchen. Life was never the same — and we all miss him dearly. But we take good care of each other in his absence." — Margie

Honoring Leo's Memory

After Leo's death, the family honored his legacy in lasting ways:

Leo J. Bocchi Achievement Award

The Ross Ragland Theater gives the Leo J. Bocchi Achievement Award in recognition of community contributions.

Leo J. Bocchi Field

The family underwrote the creation and building of Leo J. Bocchi Field — a true collegiate baseball field with grandstands that serves as the official home field of Oregon Tech Baseball at Steen Sports Park.

Every game played on that field is a tribute to Leo and to the family's continued commitment to Klamath.

A 91-Year-Old Klamath Treasure

Margie Bocchi at 91 is exactly the kind of Klamath Basin matriarch that defines the basin's living history:

  • 70+ years in the community since arriving from Texas at 17
  • Bookkeeper, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother
  • Catholic faith as anchor
  • 84 direct descendants carrying her legacy forward
  • A family business that continues to employ Klamath workers and serve regional customers

Thank You

To Margie Bocchi — for the gracious, grateful spirit you bring to every conversation, for the family you raised, for the businesses you helped build, and for the 74 years of contributions to the Klamath Basin that started when you stepped off a Texas train at 17.

To the Bocchi family — for sharing your matriarch with our readers, and for being one of the basin's most consequential families.

To Leo's memory — your legacy lives in every PepsiCo truck on Klamath roads, every Oregon Tech baseball game at Bocchi Field, every grandchild and great-grandchild bearing your name.

Happy Mother's Day, Margie. The basin loves you.