Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Greta DeLong
Services will be Wednesday for Greta DeLong, who died at home in Aptos on Friday. She was 87.
A native of Lowell, Mass., she earned her bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate from Eastern Michigan Normal College.
She received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1941 and a doctorate in psychology from Ohio State University in 1948, completing a groundbreaking study in visual perception and reading.
In the late 1960s, she helped establish the Head Start program in Alaska.
She later worked as a master teacher and college professor, retiring in the 1980s from Grand Valley State University in Michigan. A member of the American Association of University Women and the National Education Association, she loved bird watching, gourmet cooking and world travel.
She is survived by daughters Susan Charnley of Ypsilanti, Mich., and Linnea Appleby of Aptos; three grandchildren; and a sister, Ann Alexander of Lansing, Mich.
Her husband, Arthur DeLong, died in 1995.
Services will be 6 p.m. Wednesday at Oakwood Memorial Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz. Oakwood Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Contributions are preferred to Hospice Caring Project, 6851 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95065.
February 18, 2003
Armond J. Olson
Services will be Wednesday for Armond J. Olson, who died Friday in Santa Cruz. He was 93.
A Minnesota native, he made his home in Aptos. He had been living in the area for about 60 years.
Mr. Olson was a heavy equipment mechanic for Santa Cruz County for 40 years. He was also a longtime commercial fisherman, working out of Moss Landing.
Mr. Olson was a founding member of the Watsonville City Band, and played trombone with the group for 40 years. He was at the group’s first rehearsal in 1947. He was an avid hunter and world traveler.
He is survived by son Kenneth A. Olson of Aptos; sisters Margaret of Castro Valley and Thelma of Minnesota; two grandchildren; one great-grandchild and many nieces and nephews.
His wife, Laura, died in 1987.
Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Pioneer Watsonville Cemetery. Davis Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Contributions are preferred to the Watsonville Band, care of band manager Ed Pio, 1123 Los Palos Drive, Salinas, CA 93901
February 18, 2003
Jose Moreno Ramos
Services will be Wednesday for Jose Moreno Ramos, who died Friday at Watsonville Community Hospital. He was 70.
Born in Jalisco, Mexico, he lived in Watsonville for 43 years and worked many years for the Green Giant Co.
He was active in the Teamsters and United Farm Workers. He enjoyed gardening, classic cars and mariachi music.
He is survived by daughters Rosa Maria, Elvie, Irene and Alma; sons Victor, Johnny, Rafael, Freddie, Samuel, Albert and Gustavo; brother Rafael Moreno (his twin) and brother Hector Figeroa; 38 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Friends may call 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at Davis Memorial Chapel, 609 Main St., Watsonville, with a vigil and rosary at 6 p.m.
A funeral Mass will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Church of Assumption.
February 18, 2003
Lily Masaye Kimoto
Services will be Saturday for Lily Masaye Kimoto, who died Friday at her home in Watsonville. She was 84.
Family members said she will be remembered as a "beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother," and "the loving pillar of those around her. Her life was a tribute to the qualities of duty, perseverance and love."
A longtime resident of the area, she loved plants, pets, fishing and spending time with her family. She passed on the traditions of Japan to her loved ones.
Born in Green River, Wyo., she spent her childhood in Kumamoto, Japan, and returned to the United States as a teenager.
She attended Watsonville High School and later marriage James Kimoto.
Family members said she was the glue that held the family together during some difficult years: when the family was relocated to an internment camp in Colorado during World War II, and during the period the family spent farming in the Sonoma/Sebastapol area and later in Watsonville.
She is survived by sons Ted Kimoto of Portland, Ore., and Glen Kimoto of Santa Cruz; daughters June McNiff of Salinas and Judy Sharp of Fairfield; six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
Her husband died in 1997.
Visitations will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Friday at Davis Memorial Chapel, 609 Main St., Watsonville.
Services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 423 Bridge St., Watsonville.
She will be buried at the Pajaro Valley Memorial Park in Watsonville.
February 18, 2003
Cleola Mae Stoops
Services have been held for Cleola Mae Stoops, who died Jan. 31 at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. She was 64.
Born in St. Paul, Minn., she attended the University of Minnesota and moved with her family to Santa Cruz in 1968.
She spent 28 years with the county Office of Education, working with mentally and physically challenged children and adults, She retired in 2001.
She was very active at her church, Messiah Lutheran, and in other volunteer organizations. She was a longtime member of the church Altar Guild and Good Shepherd Homes of the West. She frequently volunteered to feed the homeless and chaired the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League Evening Guild.
She enjoyed giving of herself and her time to whomever needed it. She also enjoyed spending time with friends and family and writing letters.
She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Joseph L. Stoops, brother Roger Arent of Minnetonka, Minn., sons Joseph F. Stoops of Ben Lomond and Glenn Stoops of Carpinteria; three grandchildren; and several nieces and a nephew.
Her sister, Bonnie Arent, died in 1990, and her granddaughter, Taylor Gene Stoops, died in 1999.
Contributions are preferred to the Messiah Lutheran Church Evening Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.
February 18, 2003
Rose Pedulla
Services will be private for Rose Emily Pedulla, who died Saturday in Watsonville. She was 96.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., she moved to this area from Sonoma County 30 years ago. She worked as a seamstress for many years in Rochester, and owned and operated a plant nursery in Milpitas with her husband, retiring in 1964.
Her hobbies were listening to opera and gardening.
She is survived by daughters Lena Lunde of Laguna Woods and Norma Jamieson of Felton; son Rudy Pedulla of Watsonville; sisters Millie Speziale and Josephine Snyder, both of Syracuse, N.Y.; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Her husband, Joseph C. Pedulla, died in 1981.
She will be cremated and her ashes buried at Soquel Cemetery.
Contributions are preferred to the Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz County, 6851 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003.
February 18, 2003