Del Biagi
1942-2025
Retired Director, Sanitation
33 Years of City Service
1990 Employee of the Year passes away.
Delwin “Del” Biagi, 83, passed away Feb. 7 in Brea, California.
A Club Member, he Retired as Director of Public Works/Sanitation in 1977.
Del’s remarkable 33-year career with the City spanned three different bureaus, including Engineering, Street Maintenance, and ultimately Sanitation, where he served as Director for the last 13 years of his employment. At the time he was appointed Director, he was the youngest to ever hold such a high post for the City of Los Angeles.
Del graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in civil engineering in 1964. He later went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration from USC and a management certificate from UCLA.
Del’s career with the City began in the Westchester-Venice Office of the Bureau of Engineering in 1964. He started as a Civil Engineering Assistant and rose through the ranks in Engineering. In 1977 he was promoted to Assistant Director of the Bureau of Street Maintenance. In 1981, he returned to Engineering as a Deputy City Engineer. Finally, in 1984 he became the Director of the Bureau of Sanitation, where he would stay until his retirement in 1997.
Del received numerous accolades during his City career and was well known for his public speaking skills and his quick wit. Shortly after taking the helm at Sanitation, the Bureau was threatened by a potential trash hauler strike. When a disgruntled Sanitation driver emptied the contents of his truck onto the City Hall steps, the media was there to ask for Del’s reaction. With a straight face he responded, “That looks like a full load!”
He also helped guide the City through the 1984 Olympics and, as a vital member of the EOC, he contributed to the City’s response to the Northridge earthquake in 1994, among many other high-profile events.
Those who knew him well saw Del as a true family man. He coached Little League Baseball for his boys, volunteered at the YMCA and took annual summer vacations with his family. Early in his career he was a shortstop and pitcher in the Bridge Division fast-pitch softball league and also was the center for The Gunners City basketball team. Later he played many seasons in the City Summer Comp. golf league with his son, Mike. Del was very involved in his church and loved helping others.
Del’s retirement party in 1997 was held at Castaway in Burbank with more than 300 people in attendance, including many Councilmembers, current and Retired department heads and other City officials. When the festivities concluded, Del and Linda took off for several weeks in their tent trailer, camping in National Parks, fly fishing and hiking. Of course they stopped at nearly every golf course they encountered to play a round!
Despite his numerous professional accolades, including being named City Employee of the Year in 1990, a Top Ten Leader in the United States by the APWA in 1991 and appearing on the cover of Public Works Magazine in 1989, Del most treasured his more than 60 years of marriage to his wife, Linda, and raising their three sons. Del will be remembered for his integrity, sense of humor and ability to put others at ease.
A memorial service for Del was planned for March 1 at Friends Community Church in Brea.
Del is survived by his wife, Linda; sons Michael (Marla), Robert (Kathleen) and Kevin (Stacey); and his sister Marge (Mike). Del had eight grandchildren: Matt (Dana), Deni (Stephen), Cory, Laine (Hannah), Juli, Natalie (Jonathan), Emily and Wyatt. Great-grandchildren include Cody, Bryce, Summer and Nora, Sean, Jacob, and Goldie.
Contributed by son Michael Biagi, former Division Chief, Airports, and former Club Board Member
