Mildred DeDomenico, the widow of Wine Train founder and legendary San Francisco businessman Vince DeDomenico, passed away Monday at the Wine Train station, a company spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. Mildred DeDomenico survived her late husband by only five weeks.

Mildred DeDomenico collapsed at the station at around 11 a.m., said Wine Train spokeswoman Erica Ercolano.

DeDomenico, 87, was transported to Queen of the Valley Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The precise cause of death is pending. The Napa County Sheriff's Department plans to conduct an autopsy.

Ercolano said the DeDomenico family is devastated. "She was amazing," Ercolano said.

Friends and longtime acquaintances said Tuesday Mildred and Vincent DeDomenico were inseparable, going out to restaurants together, working and showing the energy of people much younger than themselves right up until the end.

"She and her husband were never apart," said Dorothy Lind Salmon, senior consultant to the Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation. "They not only had a great marriage. They were wonderful parents and they were great business partners. It truly was a partnership."

Vincent DeDomenico died Oct. 18.

The DeDomenicos came to Napa in the 1980s, long after Vincent had helped create Rice-A-Roni and taken his father's grain company to prominence, even acquiring Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. He immediately took over efforts to create the Napa Valley Wine Train on tracks that had been operated by Southern Pacific for more than a century. The Wine Train today is a well-known tourist attraction that has brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to Napa with it elegant meals and wine service.

The DeDomenicos were longtime supporters of several charities in Napa County, including the Napa Valley Opera House, where Mildred DeDomenico was a member of the board of counselors, an honorary group.

Mildred DeDomenico was a quiet and effective supporter, said William Kieschnick, a trustee emeritus, who was board president when DeDomenico was a trustee.

Jack Hussey, an early investor in the Wine Train, also praised Mildred DeDomenico.

"She was a wonderful lady," Hussey said.

The DeDomenicos leave behind sons Vincent DeDomenico Jr. and Michael DeDomenico; daughters Marla Bleecher and Vicki McManus; and seven grandchildren.

Information on memorial services was not available Tuesday. The family asks that gifts in lieu of flowers be sent to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Napa Valley, Queen of the Valley Medical Center and the Napa Valley Symphony.