We are deeply saddened to share that Rick Lafranchi of Nicasio Valley Cheese died unexpectedly on April 13, 2026. He was 74 years old. Rick and his family owned and operated the creamery in Nicasio, California, which is more than a century old. He is survived by his brothers, Randy and Scott, sisters Jan, Diane, and Kimberly, as well as his wife, Debby, plus his children and grandchildren.
“A true pillar of our community, he was deeply involved in the dairy and cheese industry and made a lasting impact on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His kindness, generosity, and genuine spirit touched countless lives,” says Nicasio Valley Cheese in an Instagram post. “His legacy will live on in all that we do.”
After news broke of Rick’s passing, the cheese and agricultural community—particularly, the California cheese community—came together to express an outpouring of support for the Lafranchi family and remember Rick.
“To say he was one of the best humans I’ve ever met is an understatement,” Tamara Hicks of Tomales Farmstead Creamery in Tomales, California, says in an Instagram tribute.
Food journalist Laura Werlin echoes Hicks. “In his too-short life, Rick created such good will and was tireless in his efforts to build the family business and equally, to support everyone in the cheese community,” she says, also on Instagram. “Maybe most of all, he was unfailingly kind.”
“Rick was an invaluable member of our agricultural community. … But beyond all of that, he was simply a wonderful person—generous with his time, his knowledge, and his spirit. He will be sorely missed,” says Lily Verdone, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust’s executive director. Rick served as a board member for the trust and as its chair from 2012 to 2014; the trust is dedicated to preserving Marin County farmland and protecting it from developers.
Prior to his career in cheese, Rick coached high school baseball at his alma mater, Archie Williams High School—then Sir Francis Drake High School—in San Anselmo, California. He also owned a Silver Screen Videos franchise store in the area.
“I never heard a negative word come out of his mouth,” says Chad Stuart, who served as the school’s athletic director during Rick’s tenure, in a Marin Independent Journal obituary. “He truly was the salt of the earth—I cannot name a person of higher character.”
When Silver Screen Videos closed in 2019, Rick said that his favorite movie was It’s a Wonderful Life. “Like Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey, he had a profound and positive impact on the people and community around him,” says Derek Wilson, the sports writer for the Marin Independent Journal.
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