Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!February 26, 2004
Martha Sherry
Martha Sherry, proprietor of the Cookery Crockery Shop in Montgomery Village in the 1970s and '80s has died after a long illness. She was 86.
Born on Jan. 19, 1918, in Canandaigua, N.Y., to Frank and Mary Sabina Caplise, the Santa Rosa resident was the second youngest of six sisters.
"She used to say that her mother certainly had her hands full getting all the girls ready for school in those days of starched linen and such," said her husband of 58 years, Rod Sherry, a retired newscaster.
She grew up in Syracuse with her sisters, Louise, Katherine, Ruth, Mary and Eleanor, and graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in home economics and design. She later worked as a home decorator for a department store and had experience in retail sportswear sales.
During World War II she moved to Los Angeles, working there and in Beverly Hills in retail. It was on a trip home to the East Coast that she met Rod Sherry, then recently returned from duty with the Army Air Corps in England. They marriage in 1946 in Rochester, N.Y.
Rod Sherry worked in radio, then television in Los Angeles, San Diego and eventually at KPIX, Channel 5, in San Francisco, where he was the news anchor for eight years. In 1972, the couple retired to Santa Rosa.
"We had always liked Santa Rosa. It was much smaller then, of course, and it was nice to be just one hour from San Francisco where we had so many friends," her husband said.
The Sherrys had just settled into Wine Country when Martha Sherry had the idea to open the first local shop devoted solely to the culinary arts. The couple christened the Montgomery Village store The Cookery Crockery Shop.
"Martha's experience in retail made the venture profitable, and the shop expanded into a larger location at the corner of Farmers Lane and Magowan Drive," her husband said of the enterprise they ran together until 1985.
Rod Sherry also worked at KFTY-TV News 50 as managing editor for the weekend news and served as president of the Santa Rosa Downtown Rotary Club.
After the shop closed, Martha Sherry had more time to devote to special interests, such as her membership in the Soroptomist Society, her role at the Sonoma County Museum of Art and the effort to launch the Burbank Center for the Arts.
"Martha had so many friends through these groups. She developed a close circle of girlfriends that loved to get together to celebrate special dates, birthdays and anniversaries. She called them her Lunch Bunch," Sherry said of his wife's active social life in retirement.
Throughout their marriage, the couple shared a love for dogs, and Martha also loved to garden.
"She liked nothing better than to relax on the deck under the oaks, admiring her camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons," her husband said.
Martha Sherry's sisters preceded her in death. Plans for a celebration of her life will be announced at a future date.
Harry Arbios
Services for Harry Arbios, longtime principal at Herbert Slater Middle School, will be Saturday in Fresno.
The 11 a.m. service will be at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 355 E. Champlain Drive.
Arbios, 66, died Sunday at a Fresno hospital after suffering an apparent heart attack, family members said.
Arbios retired in 1996 after 32 years with Santa Rosa City Schools. For 19 of those years, he was Slater's principal. He also taught Spanish and was vice principal and dean of boys at Santa Rosa High School.
He and his wife, Diane, moved to Fresno after they retired, to be closer to family.
Memorial donations may be made to the Hanna Boys Center, P.O. Box 100, Sonoma 95476-0100 or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-0309.
Lenard Louie
Lenard Louie, a San Francisco Superior Court judge and noted member of the Asian community, died Tuesday afternoon. He was 68.
Louie died after a long illness that had kept him away from the court since November, the Superior Court reported. The court did not specify the nature of the illness.
"I learned to evaluate what a case is worth because I tried everything from the most Mickey Mouse of cases to the heaviest of homicides," Louie said once. "The thing I believe I have is the ability to evaluate the evidence objectively."
Public Defender Jeff Adachi said Louie encouraged attorneys to put up the strongest fight they could, "and once the fight was over, justice would prevail."
A San Francisco native, Louie graduated from University of San Francisco and the Hastings College of the Law.
He was appointed to the San Francisco Municipal Court in 1985 and to the Superior Court in 1989, both times by Gov. George Deukmejian.
Louie joined the San Francisco District Attorney's Office in 1969, where he made a name for himself by aggressively prosecuting Asian gangs.
In 2001, he presided briefly over portions of San Fran-cisco's infamous dog mauling case.
Jeremiah Gutman, civil rights lawyer
Jeremiah Gutman, a founding member of the New York Civil Liberties Union and a fixture of the civil rights bar in Manhattan for 50 years, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at the Metro-North train station in Hastings-on-Hudson, his daughter Thea Gutman said. He was 80 and lived in Hastings-on-Hudson.
Gutman still practiced law. Early this month, he was called to testify as a defense witness in the Martha Stewart trial about conversations he had had with the prosecution's star witness in the case, Douglas Faneuil, whom Gutman had represented briefly.
Although his appearance at a high-profile trial was not unusual, his involvement in a case involving allegations of securities fraud was. Through most of his legal career, he pursued cases related to free speech, civil rights and protests against war. His clients over the years included Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, the Hare Krishnas and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
Gutman, a native of Brooklyn, joined his father's law firm, Levy, Gutman, Goldberg & Kaplan, in 1949. He had earned a Purple Heart while serving in Europe in World War II and had graduated from New York University Law School.
In 1951, in part as a response to what he saw as civil rights violations in Sen. Joseph McCarthy's campaign to root out communist influence, Gutman joined others in founding the New York Civil Liberties Union. He remained a leading figure in that group and was a member of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union at the time of his death.
His political activism extended beyond the courtroom. Last February, he suffered a shoulder injury after being knocked down in a crowd while protesting U.S. policy in Iraq with members of his family at a Manhattan rally. In a case stemming from that incident, the New York Civil Liberties Union has filed suit seeking changes in the way the police handle demonstrations.
Besides his daughter Thea Gutman, he is survived by his wife, Marilyn Gates-Gutman; two sons, Ariel and Emanuel; three other daughters, Malaika Gates-Gutman, Rebecca Menon and Mara Ferris; a brother, Robert W. Gutman; and two grandchildren.
February 22, 2004
Pershing DeGolia
Dr. Pershing DeGolia, a noted Santa Rosa eye surgeon, community leader and former military man, died in his sleep Tuesday of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 78.
Born in Oakland on Aug. 19, 1925, to hotelier Edwin Baldwin DeGolia and Myra Pershing DeGolia, he was an only child.
He was in his first semester at UC Berkeley when he left for boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga., to serve in World War II. He was a member of the 1st Infantry in the European theater.
"He was D-Day plus 3, meaning his unit was part of the waves of soldiers on Utah Beach during the invasion of Normandy," said his daughter, Victoria "Tori" Pontrelli.
He didn't talk much about his military experience, except to say "he had one year of intense combat," said his daughter. "When I was older, I learned that he was a radio man, one of the most dangerous jobs."
He fought at the Battle of the Bulge and in the Huertgen Forest standoff, in which Allied and German troops dug in for four winter months, fighting at close range. He was awarded a Purple Heart.
After the war, DeGolia served as a military policeman in Nuremberg, Germany, during the war crimes trials.
Following his military service, he returned to UC Berkeley, where he joined the Theta Chi fraternity. He met his wife, Didi (Frances Vera) Schmitt, on a blind date. They marriage in 1948. Didi DeGolia, who was active in the Symphony League and the Santa Rosa Symphony Association, died in 2002. The couple were marriage 54 years.
DeGolia attended medical school at Stanford University and settled in Santa Rosa to start his medical practice.
The DeGolias had four children; Dierdre, born in 1954; Ted, born in 1957; Pete, born in 1958, and Victoria, in 1965.
DeGolia was active in the community, serving as president of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the Santa Rosa Suburban Kiwanis, SIRS and the American, California and Sonoma County medical associations.
The couple loved to travel and learned to fly airplanes when their children were young.
"They each had pilot's licenses. By the time I came along, they had sold their little two-seater, but they always traveled and had been to all of the continents," said Pontrelli.
When DeGolia retired in 1984, he studied to become a travel agent. He would create and book group trips; then the couple could travel for free as guides.
"My father was very social, a great host. He was a happy person who loved to travel, to go to the theater, to the symphony," said his daughter.
"I was doing errands yesterday and a man rushed up to me to express his sympathy. I'd never seen him before but he'd been to China on a trip with my dad in 1989," she said.
Besides his children, DeGolia is survived by nine grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at Daniels Chapel of the Roses, 1225 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa. The family suggests donations to the Santa Rosa Suburban Kiwanis, c/o Douglas Murray, 452 Oak Brook Lane, Santa Rosa 95409.
January 8, 2004
Jason Rice
Jason Rice, a free-spirited kindergarten teacher at Gold Ridge Elementary School in Rohnert Park, died Dec. 31 of cancer. He was 33.
Rice was born to Norman and Martha Rice in New York City on Sept. 19, 1970. When he was 2, the family moved to Stockton, where he grew up with his younger sisters, Courtney, 30, and Caitlin, 24.
"It's kind of ironic that he became a teacher, considering cutting class was his favorite subject," Courtney Rice said.
Rice worked at the YMCA in Stockton and Santa Rosa and went to Sonoma State University, graduating cum laude in 1994.
"I think his success at college inspired him to work with kids," his sister said.
Rice first taught second grade at John Reed Elementary School in Rohnert Park. For the past 21/2 years, he was a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Gold Ridge.
Colleagues said he put positive energy into everything he did.
A self-taught musician, Rice spent many school recesses playing the guitar, mandolin, banjo or flute.
When Rice thought the school's weekly assemblies needed "jazzing up," he took it on himself to devise a new game for each gathering. Students, their names pulled from a hat, came forward to throw basketballs into a can or to see how high they could build a block structure using only one hand.
"Jason was not someone who passes through your life unnoticed," Principal Mary Campbell said.
Rice played guitar in a band called the Electric Foolin' Machine -- rarely for money, mostly for beer. Rice's other hobbies included fishing and kayaking.
Rice had been battling cancer since being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in early 1996, but he seldom missed work.
"His kids knew he had cancer. He answered their questions but never dwelled on it; he just kept teaching," Courtney Rice said.
"The kids loved him," Campbell said. Their parents and other staff members also held him in high regard, she said.
Although he underwent treatment for cancer, he avoided checking into the hospital until the very end, his sister said.
"He compared hospitalization to Iraq -- a proposition with no exit strategy. Near the very end, he was in the hospital, but a friend snuck him out to play pool," Courtney said.
During the winter break, school staff members contacted parents of Rice's current students and alerted them of his death. Parents of last year's students also were called. This week, the school brought in counselors to be available for staff and students.
In addition to his parents, Norman and Martha Rice of Stockton, and his sisters, Courtney Rice of Boston and Caitlin Rice of New York, Rice is survived by his aunt, Maggie Kilgore of Santa Monica.
A memorial service for children and teachers will take place at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Gold Ridge Elementary School, 1455 Golf Course Drive, Rohnert Park. The service for family and friends will be a potluck at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Cotati Veterans Memorial building, 8505 Park Ave., Cotati. For recorded information regarding times and directions, call 793-9545.
Pierre Charles, 49
ROSEAU, Dominica -- Prime Minister Pierre Charles of Dominica, who slashed public spending in a bid to help his island's economy and was a critic of U.S. policy in the Caribbean, has died of an apparent heart attack.
The 49-year-old leader was leaving his office after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday night when he complained of chest pains and slumped over in the back seat of his car while being driven home, said Dr. Irvin Pascal, the country's chief medical officer.
Leaders of the Dominica Labor Party, the nation's main party, chose the education minister as the next leader of the Caribbean country Wednesday. Roosevelt Skerrit, 31, had yet to be formally appointed by President Nicholas Liverpool, but was expected to be approved.
Flags were lowered to half-staff at government buildings after Charles' death.
"It's a tremendous shock to the nation," said Tourism Minister Charles Savarin, among more than 200 people who gathered Tuesday night outside Princess Margaret Hospital, where Charles was pronounced dead. An autopsy was planned today.
Charles suffered from heart problems and recently took a three-week leave of absence to rest. He had returned to work in mid-December.
January 3, 2004
Frank Stefani
Frank Stefani wasn't the type of guy who wanted to spend his retirement on the golf course or at a poker table.
The son of Italian immigrants was happiest in the kitchen, cooking for hundreds at crab, polenta and spaghetti feeds.
"They always said: 'Oh, Frank must be cooking in the kitchen. I know that sauce,'" said his daughter, Ora Romani of Santa Rosa. "Cooking was his fun. He was cooking all the time."
Stefani, a longtime Santa Rosa resident remembered for his spaghetti sauce, sensitivity and deep affection for his family, died Tuesday of heart failure in a Santa Rosa hospital. He was 89.
Though he loved cooking for large groups, he saved his speciality, veal scallopini, for family.
"He used to deliver wines to a lot of the fancy restaurants in San Francisco, and he learned how to do a lot of the fancy cooking there," his daughter said.
Born in San Francisco, Stefani spent most of his life working for wine companies. After high school, he took a job with the now defunct Monte Carlo Winery, where he put labels on bottles and delivered shipments to customers.
After a three-year hiatus during which he joined the Army and served in Spokane, Wash., as a supply sergeant in the medical corps, Stefani returned to the winery and eventually climbed the ranks to become a partner in the company.
When that winery was sold, he took a job as a truck driver for another wine company, Pellegrini. He retired and moved to Santa Rosa in 1980.
"He knew his stuff when it came to wine," said his son-in-law, David Romani.
Stefani marriage his high school sweetheart, Delia, whom he "idolized and worshiped," said their daughter, Ora.
Also known for his strong will, Stefani spent the last two years driving himself three times a week to his 5:30 a.m. dialysis appointments.
He was a member of the Druids, Italian Catholic Federation of St. Eugene's, the Italian American Club and the Unknowns Athletic Club of San Francisco.
In addition to his daughter and son-in-law, Stefani is survived by his two grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Friends and family are invited to meet today at 10 a.m. at Lafferty & Smith Colonial Chapel, 4321 Sonoma Highway, Santa Rosa. A funeral Mass in his honor will take place at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 1244 Saint Francis Road, Santa Rosa. There will be a private entombment at Calvary Catholic Cemetery.
Donations in his name may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of Northern California, 611 Mission St., 3rd Floor, San Francisco 94105.
Earl Hindman, man behind the fence
Earl Hindman, the actor known to millions as the odd neighbor barely seen as he peeks over the backyard fence in the long-running TV sitcom "Home Improvement," died Monday at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. A Stamford resident, he was 61.
The cause was lung cancer, said his wife, the Rev. Molly McGreevy.
Hindman played Wilson from next door, imparting bits of wisdom about life to Tim Taylor, the embattled main character who knows how to improve other people's houses but not his own home. Viewers heard Wilson's advice but were left to wonder if they would ever get to see more of him.
A lean, lanky character actor, Hindman started his career on stage and appeared in films, TV series and specials for more than 30 years. Before "Home Improvement," he was Detective Lt. Bob Reid for 16 years on the ABC soap "Ryan's Hope," until it ended its run in 1989.
Earl Hindman was born in Bisbee, Ariz., and started acting in high school. He studied it at the University of Arizona before setting out for New York. He worked both on and off Broadway and in regional theater before breaking through with his Off-Broadway role as Marvin Hudgins in "Dark of the Moon" in 1970.
Gary Stewart
Gary Stewart, the country singer whose 1970s hits chronicling the alcohol-drenched honky-tonk life paralleled his own struggles with booze, drugs and depression, has died. He was 58.
A police report said Stewart was found Dec. 16 in his home in Fort Pierce, Fla., where it appeared that he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Stewart's wife of more than 40 years, Mary Lou, had died a month earlier after a bout with pneumonia.
"He was just lost without her -- it broke his heart," Robert Gallagher, entertainment coordinator at Billy Bob's Texas, told the Fort Worth Star Telegram. The club was where Stewart had recorded his final album, "Live at Billy Bob's Texas," released last year.
Another friend of Stewart once said he "couldn't put his pants on without Mary Lou around," and although their marriage lasted from the time they wed as teenagers, it was tested by his drug and alcohol use, which spiraled out of control when his hits began to fade in the late '70s.
Stewart charted 30 country singles from 1973 to '89, hitting his commercial peak in the mid-70s with a string of songs in which alcohol often played a central role: "Drinkin' Thing," "Whiskey Trip" and his only No. 1 hit, his 1975 single "She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)."
After he suffered a back injury in a 1980 car accident and, in 1982, was dropped by RCA, his drug and alcohol use escalated. Mary Lou left him for a time, and his son, Gary Joseph, killed himself in 1988, the same year Stewart emerged, clean and sober, with his first new album in years.
His high-pitched tenor and distinctive vocal quaver combined for an intense emotionalism -- vulnerability and desperation rolled into one, and ideally suited to the fragile characters who populated his songs.
His driving musical sound, reflecting his early affinity for rock and country, was at odds with the smooth, string-laden sound that typified Nashville in the early '70s. He was often cast as a latter-day champion of the raw honky-tonk sound of '40s and '50s country performers such as Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell and Webb Pierce.
He is survived by daughter Shannon Stewart of Fort Pierce and a grandson.
David Bale, activist, Steinem's husband
David Bale, an activist and the husband of feminist writer Gloria Steinem, has died at age 62.
Bale, the father of actor Christian Bale, died Tuesday of brain lymphoma at Santa Monica Healthcare Center, where he had been residing since November, family friend Carla Morganstern said Thursday.
"David went through the world with few possessions and great empathy for all living things," Steinem, the co-founder of Ms. magazine, said in a press statement. "He had the greatest heart of anyone I've ever known."
Born in South Africa, Bale grew up in Egypt, England and the Channel Islands. He worked as a pilot, with the hope of providing aid to needy communities in Africa.
Bale was once banned from returning to South Africa because he opposed the apartheid government, Morganstern said.
He and Steinem marriage in 2000 in a Cherokee ceremony in Oklahoma. It was his third marriage.
