Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Gene Benton
Services will be Feb. 17 for Gene Benton, who died Monday in Santa Cruz. He was 80.
Mr. Benton was born in New York. He lived in Los Angeles for 24 years before moving to the Santa Cruz County in 1988.
Mr. Benton was an actor and a writer; he wrote a food column for the San Jose Mercury News.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Peggy Benton; one brother-in-law; and one sister-in-law.
A memorial will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Pacific Roasting Co. in Aptos.
Arrangements are by Normans Family Chapel.
January 26, 2002
Jerilee Hart
Services will be private for Jerilee Hart, who died Jan. 17 in Watsonville. She was 67.
Ms. Hart was born in Lincoln, Neb. She graduated from high school in Concord and lived in Santa Cruz for 30 years.
She enjoyed jigsaw puzzles and playing bingo.
She is survived by an aunt in Newark; an uncle in Martinez; and 12 cousins.
Her parents, Midge and Hadsell "Hardy" Hart, died before her.
A private Burial will be at Skyview Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Vallejo.
Contributions are preferred to a charity of choice.
Arrangements are by Norman’s Family Chapel.
January 28, 2002
Edna C. Poggi
Private services were held for Edna C. Poggi, who died Jan. 19 in Watsonville. She was 91.
Mrs. Poggi was born in New York and lived in the area for many years.
She is survived by a daughter, Julie Fanning of Cathedral City.
Mrs. Poggi was buried at Pioneer Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Davis Memorial Chapel.
January 28, 2002
Jean Reedy Thiemann
Services will be March 2 for Jean Reedy Thiemann, who died Tuesday after suffering a stroke. She was 76.
Mrs. Thiemann was born in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., where her father was a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois. While in college, she worked summers during World War II as a waitress on Great Lakes cruise ships. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1947, then worked briefly in New York.
In 1950, she marriage John Walter Thiemann. They lived in Detroit, Milwaukee and Orrville, Ohio, before moving to Palo Alto in 1961. She raised five children and then returned to college, earning a teaching credential and a degree in library science at San Jose State University. She worked as a librarian at La Entrada Middle School from 1972 to 1986.
The Thiemanns moved to Watsonville in 1989, where they began farming a rugged, 10-acre orchard in the hills. The built a house; grew apples, avocados and vegetables; and entertained family and friends and "countless gophers, deer, bluebirds and barn swallows," John Thiemann said.
Mrs. Thiemann suffered a small stroke in 1990, which caused blindness in the left half of her visual field and prevented her from driving. She made a full recovery, teaching herself to read and write again. She continued to run the orchard, travel widely, baby-sit her grandchildren and regularly attend the local Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship.
While at home Monday, she suffered a massive intracerebral hemorrhage and lapsed into a coma. She died a few hours later without regaining consciousness.
She is survived by her husband John Walter Thiemann of Watsonville; brother John Henry Reedy of Harvard, Mass. and Tucson, Ariz.; sons David Thiemann of Columbia, Md. Peter Thiemann of Saratoga and Todd Thiemann of Scotts Valley; daughters Sue Thiemann of Palo Alto and Jill Thiemann McGee of Pasadena; and two grandchildren.
A celebration of her life will be 3 p.m. March 2 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 6401 Freedom Blvd., Aptos.
Contributions are preferred to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
January 28, 2002
Yvonne May Harbison
No services are planned for Yvonne May Harbison, who died Jan. 21 of lung cancer at her Watsonville home. She was 68.
Mrs. Harbison was a retired supervisor in electronics manufacturing with Hughes Aircraft. She spent 12 years of her life caring for her mother Ida, who died in November 2000.
Mrs. Harbison is survived by daughter Lisa Russo of Watsonville; son Ralph Headrick of Santa Cruz; sister Darlene Matheson of McKinleyville; and four grandchildren.
Contributions are preferred to Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz County, P.O. Box 670 Aptos, CA 95001.
Arrangements are by Mehl’s Colonial Chapel in Watsonville.
January 29, 2002
Milton Shore
Services are today for Milton Shore, who died Monday at a local convalescent hospital. He was 86.
Mr. Shore was a native Philadelphian who moved to the Santa Cruz area in the early 1980s.
He is survived by son Jay Shore; grandchildren Dylan and Cary Shore, all of Portland, Ore; sister Mildred Cohen of Wilmington, Del.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
His wife Edna and son Mitchell Erwin Shore died before him.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. today at Temple Beth El, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos.
Arrangements are by Benito and Azarro’s Pacific Gardens Chapel, 1500 Cayuga St., Santa Cruz.
January 29, 2002
Sharene Fischer
Services are today for Sharene Fischer, who died unexpectedly Jan. 24 at Washoe Medical Center in Reno. She was 61.
Mrs. Fischer was born in San Bruno and moved to Santa Cruz in 1972.
The graduate of Cappuccino High School in San Bruno worked for Seagate Technologies for many years.
She was a member of the Summit Riders Horse Association and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
She is survived by daughter Jennifer McCain of Reno and brother Ron Osborne of Las Vegas.
Her son, Dan Fischer, died before her.
Services are at 1 p.m. at the Capitola/Santa Cruz Ward of he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 220 Elk St., Santa Cruz. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park.
Arrangements are by Benito and Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel in Santa Cruz.
January 29, 2002
Stephanie Peters
No services are planned for Stephanie Peters, who died Jan. 12 in Santa Cruz. She was 85.
Mrs. Peters was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in 1916. She moved to Santa Cruz in June to live with her son and his family.
She worked for the Canadian National Railway as an office manager until her retirement. She continued to work after her retirement, acting in commercials and public service announcements. As a young girl she was a dancer with a traveling Ukranian dance troupe.
She’s survived by son Bill Peters and grandson Jesse Peters.
Her husband, William "Dusty" Peters, died before her.
January 29, 2002
