Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!YANCI
Ramon (Ray) Yanci
Mr. Ramon (Ray) Yanci, a lifelong resident of Yolo County, passed away on Sunday, July 3, 2005, at Woodland Memorial Hospital.
Born on November 20, 1923, in Winters, California, to Natalio (Nate) and Manuela Yanci, he was 81 years old. Ray attended the one-room Cottonwood Elementary School in Western Yolo County, and graduated from Esparto High School with the Class of 1942. He was a sheep and cattle rancher in Western Yolo County until retirement when he moved back to Winters. Ray was a life member of the Woodland Elks Lodge #1299, and a more than 50 year member of the Yolo County Wool Growers and Cattlemanís Association. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents Natalio and Manuela Yanci, and his wife Lita Yanci.
He is survived by Sister Marie Yanci of Woodland, and his brother Joseph Yanci and his wife Pat of Woodland. He is further survived by his step-children; John A. Martinez and his wife Robin of Lincoln, CA., Betty Ann Biasi of Winters, and Patti Gottlieb and her husband Greg of Roseville. Ray was the proud grandfather of Sam Biasi and his wife Anne of Petaluma, Lori Fellows and her husband Turk of Esparto, John F. Martinez of Happy Camp, Jennifer Martinez of Concord, Paul Gottlieb and his wife Shekina of Roseville, and Amy Gottlieb of Roseville. His great grandchildren are Anthony and Sarah Biasi of Petaluma, Tyler, Tanner and Tate Fellows of Esparto. He is also survived by sisters-in-law Dolores Gregg and her husband Bill of Sacramento and Josie Mermod and her husband Jack of San Leandro. The rosary will be recited on Sunday, July 10 at 7:00 PM at St. Anthony Catholic Church, located on the corner of 3rd & Main Streets in Winters.
The funeral mass will be celebrated on Monday, July 11, at 11:00 AM at St. Anthony Catholic Church. Burial will follow at the Winters Cemetery.
Remembrances may be made in Mr. Yanci's name to the American Cancer Society or the Woodland Memorial Hospital Home Healthcare Program, 261 California Street, Woodland, CA 95695. Arrangements are under the direction of Davis Funeral Chapel in Davis.
CONSTANT
Ellen Florcey Constant
Ellen Florcey Constant died at the Cottonwood Healthcare Center in Woodland Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2004 at the age of 81.
Mrs. Constant was born March 1, 1923 in Gideon, Mo. to Caroline Bartley and had been a Yolo County resident for 37 years. She had worked as a cook for more than 15 years at a local nursing and care facility.
Mrs. Constant is survived by her daughters Martha Hobbs and her husband Walter of Oroville, Patricia "Dinah" Rose and her husband Robert of Chico and Darlene Short and her husband Dan of Woodland and her son Ervin "Sonny" Constant of Yuba City. She is also survived by her grandchildren Clayton Hobbs, Brian Hobbs and his wife Jan, Pluma Hobbs, Florcey Campbell and her husband Ed and Crystal Silence all of Oroville, Scotty Hobbs and his wife Sandra of Clearlake, Brandy Short of Woodland, Robert Rose Jr. of Chico, Ervin Constant III of Sutter, and Tonya Constant of Dobbins. Twenty-one great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren also survive. Mrs. Constant was preceded in death by her sisters, Lidney Smith and Marie Weathers.
Donations in Mrs. Constant's memory may be made to the Diabetes Association Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 2680, N. Canton, Ohio, 44720.
Services: A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 13, 2004 at Woodland Cemetery, with Rev. Elmer Prout officiating. Kraft Bros. Funeral Directors of Woodland is assisting the family with arrangements.
YARBROUGH
Olive Rose Yarbrough
Olive Rose Yarbrough died Saturday, Aug. 9, 2003 at Alderson's Convalescent Hospital in Woodland, at age 86.
Olive resided in the Sacramento and Woodland area most of her life. Olive touched many lives and was loved by all. Family, friends and Bingo were what was most important to her. She worked for and retired from Yolo General Hospital and spent her adult years raising eight children.
Survivors include her sons, Gary and Donna Yarbrough of Shingle Springs, Michael and Lana Yarbrough of Elk Grove, and Steve Yarbrough of Woodland; daughter, Linda and Wayne Smith of Zamora; 10 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; three stepsons, Jay, Ron and Don; and brother-in-law, Phil Lucitt. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Judith Ann; son, Kenneth and sisters, Edith Lucitt and Helen Easton.
Services: A funeral service is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17 at West Valley Baptist Church in Woodland, 668-1109. Memorials may be sent to Yolo Hospice, P.O. Box 1014, Davis 95617-1014.
NICHOLSON
Audrey Nicholson
Audrey Nicholson passed away on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004, surrounded by her family. Born on Oct. 4, 1921, she was 83 years old.
Born and raised in Vacaville, she marriage Miles Nicholson and moved to Davis in 1940. They resided there from 1941 to 1969. In 1969 they purchased their ranch in Winters, where they have lived since. Mrs. Nicholson was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, who always put family first and doted on her children. Her greatest joy was cooking dinners for her friends and family. Her table overflowed with food and love. Her home was a gathering place where everyone was welcome and everyone wanted to be. Her kindness, warmth and generosity will never be forgotten.
She was a member of the Saturday Club and Eastern Star.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Miles; children Kay and Tom Towne, of Vacaville, Tom and Debbie Nicholson, of Winters, Susie and Tom Jones, of Oakhurst and Jon and Caroline Nicholson, of Winters; grandchildren Kim, Mitch, Jennifer, Wayde, Sally, Henry, Lila, Amanda, Jacob, Emma and William; also eight great-grandchildren and numerous extended family members and good friends.
Services will be held on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. in Vaca Hills Chapel. Retired pastor Stanley Brown will officiate. The burial will be at Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made in her name to the Yolo Hospice or American Cancer Society. Vaca Hills Chapel Funeral Home is assisting with the arrangements.
NICKEL
Denis G. Nickel
Denis G. Nickel died May 5, 2001, in Davis. He was 56.
A native of Marinette, Wis., he worked as a resource conservationist in national resource management for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than 34 years. He was a 1967 graduate of Cal State Humboldt, where he received a degree in wildlife management.
He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Sandi Nickel of Davis; children, Wendy Hardina and her husband Shawn of Santa Rosa, Warren "Nick" Nickel of Santa Rosa and Amy Nickel of Davis; his brother, Mark Nickel and his wife Kathleen of Roseburg, Ore.; sister, Sharon Bingham and her husband Lowell of Troutdale, Ore; grandchildren, Emma Hardina, McKenna Nickel-Sterngold and Morgan Nickel-Sterngold; and nephews and nieces, Shannon, Matthew, Tyler, Kerbi, Jason, Shawn, Naomi, Aaron.
A funeral mass will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Eugene's Cathedral in Santa Rosa. Interment will be private.
Those wishing to make contributions may do so to the National Arbor Society, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE, 68410 or to PanCan Pancreatic Cancer Research, P.O. Box 1010, Torrance, CA 90505.
Arrangements are under the direction of Eggen and Lance Mortuary in Santa Rosa.
JUDSON
Carrol Lewis 'Jud' Judson
Carrol Lewis "Jud" Judson of Gold Beach, Ore. died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 in Medford, Ore. at age 84.
Mr. Judson was born April 29, 1920 in Idaho. He had been a Yolo County resident for 20 years. He graduated from grammar and high school in Arbuckle. He served with the U.S. Marines during World War II, receiving the Bronze and Silver stars. He was on the first wave of Marines to enter the islands of Saipan, Iwo Jima, Marshall Islands and Kwajalien. After the war, he worked for Tidewater Oil for 35 years. He was also one of the original builders and owners of the Marque, Woodland's first drive-in restaurant. Survivors include Mr. Judson's ex-wife, Arlene Holverstott of Santa Maria; his daughter, Sandra Mignogna and her husband Michael of Santa Maria; his grandchildren, Mark Mignogna and his wife Cherei of Colorado and Jeff Mignogna of San Diego; his great-grandson, Anthony Mignogna of Colorado; his brother, Lester Judson and his wife Jean of Citrus Heights and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his second wife, Geraldine Judson; his parents, Lewis and Essie Judson and his sisters, Agnes Willard, Irene Yerman and Claralee Russell.
Services: Respecting the wishes of Mr. Judson, no services are scheduled. His ashes will be given to the sea at Gold Beach, Ore. in the near future. Rogue Valley/Grants Pass Funeral Alternatives is assisting the family with arrangements.
YACKZAN
Morwenna Louise Robinson Yackzan
Morwenna Louise Robinson Yackzan died at her Davis home on May 12, 2003, with her devoted husband Kamal by her side. She was 78.
She was born in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 30, 1924. Her mother, Hope Bennett Robinson, a native of Cornwall, England, served as a social worker. While impressed by her mother's social activism, Morwenna was also profoundly influenced by her father, Emmett Colson Robinson, a native of the Deep South who risked his life standing against the Ku Klux Klan and who treasured the friends of his youth, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black and U.S. Sen. Lister Hill.
As a teenager during World War II, Morwenna contributed to the war effort by working as a bookkeeper in an iron-producing plant. Although a gracious Southern belle, her family said she was also a woman for whom social injustice was anathema. Having no patience for bigotry in any form, she was an unequivocal supporter of civil rights long before such a stance was popular, or even safe, in her home state and would remain that way throughout her life.
She attended Auburn University and Birmingham-Southern College where she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology. She also met her husband Kamal, who was born in Beit Meri, Lebanon, at Birmingham-Southern.
In addition to rearing six children, she was employed at various times as a social worker and a rehabilitation counselor in Alabama, Virginia and Nevada, having earned a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
While her husband pursued postgraduate scientific study at the American University of Beirut, she lived in Lebanon for a year. There she worked for the United Nations -- and, in her spare time, learned to prepare traditional Middle Eastern food.
Later, while her husband pursued a doctorate at Florida State University in Tallahassee, she developed an innovative preschool co-op for children of marriage students. It served as a model not only for FSU and the University of Florida, her family said, but for other universities throughout the country.
Morwenna first moved with her family to Davis in 1969, sharing her skills as an accomplished chef of Middle Eastern cuisine by serving falafels and other tasty Mediterranean foods at the Whole Earth Festival, the UC Davis Coffeehouse and the then-newly established Farmers' Market.
Her cooking became so popular she eventually opened three different Falafel Factories, for a time, in Davis, Squaw Valley and Tahoe City. After leaving Davis, she worked in Reno, Nev., as an administrative assistant to Bill Lear, inventor of the Lear jet.
She then lived abroad and, for a few years, her hometown of Birmingham. She and her husband then retired to Tucson, Ariz., only to move back to Davis in 1993, to be near many of their children and grandchildren.
In addition to her husband, her sister Hope Northington of Mobile, Ala., and her brother Fred C. Robinson, of New Haven, Conn., a distinguished professor emeritus of English at Yale University, she is survived by her six children, Linda Yackzan of Sacramento, Randy Yackzan, Laura Powell and Dawn Yackzan, all of Davis, Bahia Yackzan of Harrington, Maine, and Joseph Yackzan of Lexington, Ky.; her daughters-in-law Lynne Yackzan and Susan Yackzan; her sons-in-law Dean Powell, David Masiel and Dwayne Shaw; and her 13 grandchildren, Lisa, Kimberly, Trenton and Scott Yackzan; Taylor, Camille and Victoria Powell; Emily and Jackson Masiel; Daniel, Andrew and David Yackzan; and Haddi Shaw. A 14th grandchild, a baby girl to be named Shaw, is due in August.
Friends are invited to a memorial service for Morwenna Yackzan at 11 a.m. Friday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road, off Russell Boulevard.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the social justice organization Jubilee Partners, P.O. Box 68, Comer, GA 30629, or to Yolo Hospice, 132 E St., Suite 3e, Davis, CA 95616.
