Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Jacqueline M. Rich
Jacqueline M. Rich passed away May 24 at the Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa. She was born May 26, 1924 in Olathe, Kansas but was raised in Elkhart, Indiana. On April 7, 1945 she marriage Paul H. Rich who was stationed at Camp Howze, Texas. She worked at the St. Helena branch of Wells Fargo Bank from 1965 until 1980.
Survivors are her husband, Paul H. Rich; her son, Michael J. Rich; daughter-in-law, Yvonne S. Rich; granddaughter, Talia Y. Rich & husband, Evan Payne; and three great-grandchildren, Emma, Madison and Trevor Payne. Internment and graveside service will be at the St. Helena Cemetery at a later date.
Dave Martinelli
David Eugene Martinelli, born April 2, 1934, passed away May 24, 2003, after a long illness. He grew up in St. Helena and attended local schools graduating from St. Helena High School in 1953. He resided in Lake Berryessa, with his wife Patty Martinelli for several years and most recently in Lake County.
Dave owned and operated St. Helena Tire Service and Dave’s Tire Service for many years. He was very active in the local Lyon’s Club and served as President as well as Zone Chairman. He was a Sergeant in the St. Helena Police Reserves, and a member of the Volunteer Fire Department.
Dave owned and sponsored Sprint Cars in the N.A.R.C. Races for many years, and loved to fish and water ski. He and his wife enjoyed traveling in their RV throughout the country.
He is survived by his wife Patty Martinelli of Lake County; his son, John Martinelli of Lake County; and his daughter, Marci Sculatti of St. Helena. He was a loving brother to his sisters, Pat Cary of Aptos, Rose Cozad and Catherine Reichstein, both of Napa. He is also survived by his stepsons, Clifford, Steven, Craig and James; his grandchildren, Jennifer, Angie, Jessica and Morgan; as well as numerous nephews and nieces, and a wide community of loving friends.
A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, May 31 at 11:00 a.m. at Mr. & Mrs. Sculatti’s home, 1668 Main Street, St. Helena. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends, and will always be remembered.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the American Cancer Society, 1031 Jefferson, Napa, CA 94558.
Thomas Harrison Baker
Thomas Harrison Baker, an Upvalley resident, died April 23 in Deer Park. He was 81.
Mr. Baker, a decendant of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States of America, was born in Bloom-field, Neb., in 1920 to Nicholas and Clare Baker.
He graduated cum laude from Yankton College in Yankton, S.D., and taught high school in South Dakota. He served with the U.S. Navy on Admiral Nimitz’s staff on Guadalcanal during World War II. After the war he became the registrar for the Amercian School on the campus of the University of Chicago.
A Master Mason for more than 55 years, Mr. Baker is survived by Charles E. Sampson, a business partner for 30 years and friend for 55; a brother, John Crosby Baker and wife, Virginia, of Coronado. He is preceded in death by his parents and brothers James Baker, Lee D. Baker and Russel Baker.
Mr. Baker’s ashes will be scattered at sea. Memorial donations may be made to Yankton College, P. O. Box 123, Yankton, SD 57078.
Funeral arrangements by Morrison Funeral Chapel.
Donald T. Drouin
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, May 12, at 11 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 1428 Spring St., for long-time St. Helena resident Donald T. Drouin, who died April 10 at age 88.
Special music will be provided by the Jazz Salvation Company, a traditional jazz band from Santa Rosa and one of Mr. Drouin's favorite musical groups. A lunch will follow at the church.
Mr. Drouin had lived in St. Helena since 1956 and was a retired towboat captain for Chevron Shipping Company. He was active in the St. Helena First Presbyterian Church and known among the congregation as a genial greeter on Sunday mornings. He was also a talented woodworker and skillful machinist, creating many models of steam engines, early steam-powered locomotives and other miniatures.
Mr. Drouin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jeanne Drouin, of St. Helena; a daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Jim Aguirre of Preston, Wash.; a son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Lori Drouin of Richmond; granddaughter Lisa Semon of Ravensdale, Wash.; grandson, Paul Aguirre of Blaine, Wash.; and three great-grandchildren, all of Washington.
Julia Ann Kalil
A memorial Mass is planned at a later date at St. Helena Catholic Church for Julia Ann Kalil, who died April 23 at Queen of the Valley Hospital. She was 84.
Mrs. Kalil, the mother of St. Helena Catholic Church associate pastor Fr. Gordon Kalil, was a native of Michigan City, Ind., and a frequent visitor to the Napa Valley.
The wife of the late Charles P. Kalil, she worked for 35 years as a supervisor for a women’s sportswear manufacturer and was recently a volunteer at Share and at the Michigan City Senior Center.
In addition to Fr. Kalil, she is survived by sons Thomas Kalil and John Kalil; daughters Camille Kalil and Cynthia Plank; sisters Katherine Bolka and Rose Shawley; a brother, Michael Nowfel, all of Indiana; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held in Indiana.
Memorial donations may be made to Share Foundation for the Handicapped, P.O. Box 400, Rolling Prairie, IN 46371.
Local arrangements by Claffey and Rota Funeral Home, Napa.
Lois Janet Walker
Lois Janet Walker, a librarian for 50 years at numerous academies and colleges of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, died April 22. She was 96.
Miss Walker was born in Valley City, N.D., one of four daughters of John and Hattie Belle Walker. The family moved to Canada when she was 6 and lived there for 14 years. She loved bird watching and will be remembered as a friendly, energetic woman who enjoyed talking with people.
Melody Sue “Susan” Lorette
A funeral service will be held in Oklahoma on Saturday, May 10 for Melody Sue “Susan” Lorette of Angwin, who died on May 2. She was 37.
Born in Mississippi in 1966 to Joseph and Doris Lorette, Ms. Lorette was a massage therapist and baby nurse in Angwin and was a Sufi, going by the name of “Rabia.”
Ms. Lorette is survived by her mother, Doris J. Lorette of Oklahoma City, Okla.; her brother Tony Lorette of Oklahoma City; two sisters, Jinni Pope of Oklahoma City and Renne Lorette-Warner of Los Angeles; and nephew Shane Clark of Moore, Okla. Ms. Lorette was preceded in death by her father, Joseph Eugene Lorette and brother Russell Joseph Lorette.
Arrangements made by Morrison Funeral Chapel and Baggerley Funeral Home, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Alice May Williams Randall
A funeral was held last week for Alice May Williams Randall, former Angwin resident, who died on April 30. She was 91.
Born in Seneca, Mich., Mrs. Randall marriage her husband, Ellsworth Randall in 1933 and the couple moved to Angwin, where they lived until 1977.
Mrs. Randall is survived by a daughter, Thais Baer of Walla Walla, Wash.; a son Malcolm Baer of Weston, Ore.; as well as four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Mrs. Randall was preceded in death by her husband in 1990.
Arrangements made by Mountain View Funeral Chapel, Walla Walla, Wash.
June Severina Papina
A funeral service was held April 30 for St. Helena native June Severina Papina, who died April 24. She was 89.
Mrs. Papina, a 1931 graduate of St. Helena High School, had longtime ties to St. Helena - both her parents were born in St. Helena, and her grandparents had moved to the town in 1880 where her grandfather served as the last foreman at the Bale Grist Mill.
She is survived by her son, Fred Papina of Walnut Creek; two brothers, Harold Varozza and Charles Varozza, both of St. Helena; two sisters, Josephine Barfield and Alice Varozza Gilbert, also of St. Helena; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Mrs. Papina was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Papina, in 1971.
Arrangements by Morrison Funeral Chapel.
Art Speluki
Art Spuleki, died April 20 in Grand Junction Colo. He was 70.
Mr. Speluki, a native of upstate New York, retired from the aero space industry and moved to St. Helena where he was active in youth sports and the American Legion.
For many years he coached and was head umpire for the St. Helena Little League. He was also involved with youth soccer in the Napa Valley and coached a championship hockey team in St. Helena
Mr. Spuleki is survived by his wife, Timmy, and three brothers.
Memorial contributions can be made to a youth soccer team of choice.
Mark Kearns Farmer
Born: September 2nd, 1918
Died: June 3rd, 2002
Survived by Ellen, his cherished wife of 42 years, and their daughter, Dulce; his children from a former marriage, Mark, Jr., Ann, and Scott; his sister, Jeanne Shumaker, and four grandchildren: American Aviation Pioneer, Mark Kearns Farmer, died Monday evening, June 3rd, of a heart attack at The Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, California. He was 83 years old. Born on September 2nd, 1918 in Turlock, CA., Mark considered his life shaped by many of the important experiences of the Country itself, remembering his lost life savings at the age of twelve in The Great Depression --$18.00 - and the bleak prospects during The Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, where his family lived until 1933. By 1937, his family had moved to California in time to cross the new Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge on its opening day, and discuss the possibilities of another bridge scheduled to built a few years later across the Golden Gate. That same year, his interest in technology led him to the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied Mining Engineering. Forty-four years later, in 1981, Mark retired, having flown as Chief Navigator for several airlines over six continents and through the theatres of three wars - WWII, Korea, and Vietnam; beginning with celestial navigation on the China Clipper SHips with PanAmerican Airways, and including Overseas National Airways, The Flying Tigers, and ending with the Boeing 747 for Braniff International Airways, where he retired as San Francisco International Airport Base Manager. Mark flew over 15,000 hours, roughly the equivalent of fourteen round-trips to the Moon. In his book, “Flight To Anywhere: A Navigator’s Life,” published in 1998, he chronicled the changes to the Country, and particularly air flight, over his lifetime, remembering how the early navigators literally had nothing but a star to guide them.
A Celebration of Mark’s life will be held by his family at the Town of Yountville Community Hall, 6516 Yount Street @ Washington St., on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 12th, at 3:00 p.m. / tele# (707) 944-2959. Additionally, the family welcomes donations made to the Western Aerospace Museum, 8260 Boeing Street, Building #621, P.O. Box #14264, North Field, Oakland International Airport, Oakland, CA. 94614 / tele# (510)638-7100.
Funeral arrangements were cared for by Treadway & Wigger Funeral Chapel, Napa, CA (707) 226-1828.
John ‘Bud’ Buehler
A memorial service is planned Saturday, June 22, at 11 a.m. at the St. Helena Catholic Church, 1340 Tainter St., for John Page “Bud” Buehler, a retired Bechtel Corporation vice president and long-time Napa Valley winery owner, who died June 1 in his St. Helena home. He was 92.
In addition to his wife of 66 years, Mr. Buehler is survived by a son, John Buehler Jr., and his wife, Lisa, of St. Helena; a daughter, Jane, and her husband, Don Yates, of Portola Valley; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
