Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Peter Amato
Peter Amato, a Davis resident and World War II veteran, died Nov. 20, 2003, after a length battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.
He was born May 24, 1917, in Denver, Colo., and moved to Davis in 1973 from Nampa, Idaho, where he farmed and raised cattle. He had previously been a fruit grower in Yuba and Sutter counties before moving to Idaho.
Amato established and operated for 15 years one of Davis' first swimming pool service companies. He was a member of St. James Catholic Church, an avid gardener and a gourmet cook.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Sara. He is survived by his brothers, Joseph Amato of Ninilchik, Alaska; Tom Amato of Reno, Nev.; and Sebastian Amato of Seattle; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Amato's family expresses thanks to his caregivers, Marie LaCroix, Bonnie Burton, Dr. Lisa Krauss and the nurses in the intensive care unit at Sutter Davis Hospital, as well as friends who helped support Amato during his illness.
Friends are invited to attend a memorial Mass at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Newman Center, Fifth and C streets. Memorials may be directed to the St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Davis Funeral Chapel.
Fredric W. Hill
A memorial service is pending for Fredric W. Hill, 85, a UC Davis professor for 30 years and the first chairman of the campus' highly regarded nutrition department.
He was found dead Nov. 29, 2003, near Davis after having been missing for six days.
Professor Hill was a pioneer in the field of nutrition, one of the first to study the interaction of carbohydrates, fats and amino acids as energy sources in the body. He studied comparative nutrition, researching how different animal species utilize the major dietary components as energy sources.
Hill's initial research focused on the nutritional requirements of poultry, including pioneering work on food composition as it relates to poultry production and growth. He also served as editor of the Journal of Nutrition, the official journal of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences.
"Professor Hill's vision for the nutrition department was based on building bridges between nutrition and medicine for the improvement of human health," said nutrition Professor Andy Clifford, Hill's colleague and longtime friend.
Hill was dedicated to making food more nutritious and was keenly interested in using his research to alleviate world hunger, telling United Press International in 1981, "The simple answer is yes, the world has the capacity to feed itself, but it does not currently use that capacity very effectively. ... We can certainly be helpful in creating the research approach and the informational base."
Hill toured Southeast Asia, India and Bangladesh, and served as a scientific adviser to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As associate dean for research and international programs at UC Davis in the late 1970s, Hill oversaw a $15 million program to improve farming techniques in more than 600 miles of the Nile River Delta in Egypt. Hill negotiated the agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Hill was also dedicated to teaching, starting one of the first general nutrition curricula in the country and founding the Nutrition 10 course at UC Davis, where he often had more than 700 students packed into his classes. Nutrition 10, an entry-level nutrition course at UC Davis, remains one of the most popular nutrition classes in the nation.
"He was a great teacher, mentor, colleague and friend who will be missed," said nutrition professor Robert Rucker. "Fred Hill was a capable administrator and excellent communicator. His strength was his ability to articulate the science of nutrition in the context of human medicine. His early efforts and leadership provided a base from which the UC Davis nutrition department evolved to become one of the best in the nation."
A native of Pennsylvania, Hill held a bachelor's degree in poultry science and master's degree in nutrition from Pennsylvania State University, and a doctoral degree in animal nutrition from Cornell University. In 1983, he was honored by Penn State as an alumni fellow.
Hill taught animal nutrition at Cornell for 11 years before arriving at UC Davis in 1959 as a professor and chair of poultry husbandry. In 1966, Hill became professor of nutrition and the first chairman of the department. He also served as associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He retired from UC Davis in 1989.
Among his many academic honors, Hill was elected in 1984 as a fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition, now known as the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1966 and won the Poultry Science Research Prize in 1957. He was also an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the American Chemical Society.
Hill traveled extensively throughout his career and into retirement, according to his daughter, Linda Hill. She noted that he loved to travel and to keep in contact with colleagues and former students now living in various countries around the world.
He was also an avid golfer and a charter member of the El Macero Country Club near Davis.
Hill was devoted to his family and took great pride in all of their accomplishments. He is survived by Charlotte, his wife of almost 60 years; his son, James Hill and his wife Gay Yee Hill of La Canada-Flintridge; his daughter, Linda Hill of Pocatello, Idaho; and his daughter-in-law, Stephanie Coulter of Santa Cruz. He also leaves a granddaughter, Sienna Hill, and grandson, Nicholas Hill.
He was preceded in death by his son, Dana Hill, and by his brother, Edwin Hill.
The family prefers that any memorial donations be made in Fredric Hill's name to the UC Davis department of nutrition for the support of graduate students. Checks may be made payable to the UC Regents and sent to the Nutrition Department Research Endowment, c/o the Department of Nutrition, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616.
Chester T. Horton
Chester Temple Horton died suddenly Dec. 3, 2003, at Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento. Born May 18, 1920, in Wilmington, Mass., he was 83 years old.
Horton had served his country in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1951. While on leave for the Thanksgiving holiday during World War II, he was introduced to his future wife by her two brothers. Chet and Virginia just visited those same brothers this past Thanksgiving.
After the service, Horton worked as a general contractor and later for Ventura and Sonoma counties as a building inspector for more than 25 years. He was respected for his knowledge of the trades and his ethics regarding the building code.
His main interests included his family, sports (especially baseball and hockey), bridge, picture puzzles and carpentry projects. He coached baseball for several years in Somis, where he lived for 45 years in a house he had built. He built the bleachers and raised the funds for lighting so Somis' teams could play night and day. His dedication to baseball was acknowledged in a letter from the National Baseball Hall of Fame that "saluted the Chet Hortons of America."
He also was always helping others through church and community projects. He loved music and was always singing or humming a song. He was a member of a national organization promoting barbershop quartets.
He was described by his family as a quiet man who enjoyed sharing little-known sports statistics, giving sage advice or asking the question, "When do we eat?"
Chet and Virginia Horton moved to Davis in April 2002. Although a local resident for only a short time, he became a regular at the Monday night bridge games at the Davis Senior Center, and he and his wife attended Friday afternoon get-togethers where they would sing old favorites with friends.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Virginia Horton of Davis; his children, Linda Stowe and her husband Steve of Burlington, Ky., Charlie Horton and his wife Ann of Boulder Creek, and Susie Quinn and her husband Pat of Davis; and a sister, Clara Horton of Marblehead, Mass.
He'll be missed by his grandchildren, Shannon Stowe of Palo Alto, Ryan Stowe of Portland, Ore., Brandon Stowe of Brooklyn, N.Y., Erin Brouse of Sonora, and Kelly Quinn, Joey Leishman, Peter Horton and Rosemary Horton, all of Boulder Creek; and a great-granddaughter, Cheyenne Brouse of Sonora.
Friends are invited to attend a funeral Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Davis Funeral Chapel, 116 D St. Burial will be private, at the Davis Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, his family suggests remembrances be made in his name to the Samaritan's Purse, a branch of the Billy Graham Ministry, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, N.C. 28607.
Joseph M. Chole
Former Davis resident Joseph Michael Chole died Nov. 27, 2003, one day shy of his 32nd birthday, after a long battle with melanoma.
He was born Nov. 28, 1971, in Fontana, graduated from Davis High School in 1990 and graduated from UC Davis in 1994, where he majored in political science with a minor in religious studies.
Chole worked at KXTV-Channel 10 in Sacramento as a studio supervisor and set designer until 2000, when he moved to St. Louis, Mo., to attend graduate school in architecture at Washington University.
Chole loved to build, to travel, to sing and to laugh, his family says. He was living in St. Louis at the time of his death.
He is survived by his parents, Rick and Cindy Chole; his brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Noelle Chole; his sister, Katy Chole; and his sister and brother-in-law, Lindy and Wes Mathews. His surviving grandparents are Wendy Chole and Tom and Ethel Beiseker. He is also survived by his niece, Lauren Chole, and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at the First Evangelical Free Church of St. Louis County. Memorials may be sent to BJC Hospice, 9890 Clayton Road, Suite 220, St. Louis, MO 63124.
Lois B. O'Brien
Lois Bird O'Brien, a longtime Davis resident, died among family in Greenbrae on June 28, 2003. She was 84.
She was born on Dec. 16, 1918, in Los Angeles to John Williamson Bird and Birdie Gilmore Bird. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Fortuna, where her sister Elinor was born.
After graduating from Fortuna High School at age 16, she attended Humboldt State College and transferred to UC Berkeley, where she earned a bachelor's degree in rhetoric. At Cal, she met C. Bickford O'Brien, a graduate student in history. They marriage on May 18, 1940, in Berkeley.
In the late 1940s the couple moved to Davis, where they reared three children.
According to her family, she liked to recall when, upon looking for a house in Davis in the early 1950s, she and her husband were advised against buying a house in town by a loan agent, who said Davis had no future. They bought anyway.
Bick O'Brien settled into teaching history at what was then the College of Agriculture at Davis.
She was involved with Davis Parent Nursery School, Girl and Boy scouts and PTA. She was a lifelong member of the League of Women Voters, serving two terms as president in the 1960s. She also served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including nearly 20 years on the Davis Planning Commission. She and her husband were also great supporters of International House, Davis.
In 1960, she was recommended by UCD's first tenured woman faculty member, Celeste Turner Wright, to teach a class on a "temporary emergency basis" in the department of English, dramatic art and speech. She stayed for 24 years, encouraging independent thinking among her students and leading popular rhetoric classes.
In addition to her community work, she was a lifelong member of the Christian Science Church, serving in many capacities locally and nationally.
Looking back on her travels to Europe and Russia with her family, years of teaching at UCD and of fulfilling public service, she often commented on how wonderful it was that a country girl from Fortuna could have had such an amazing life, her family said.
She is survived by her son Edward O'Brien or Davis, daughters Barbara Wagstaff of Berkeley and Margaret Rogers in Greenbrae, and her two grandchildren, Peter and Laurel O'Brien of Davis.
At the request of the deceased, there will be no public memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to International House, 10 College Park, Davis, CA 95616; or the League of Women Voters, P.O. Box 72674, Davis, CA 95616.
Reminiscences may be sent to the family c/o Ed O'Brien, 1501 W. Eighth St., Davis CA 95616
Ruby M. Yansky
Ruby Margie Yansky of Davis died July 5, 2003. She was 77.
She was born March 4, 1926, in Greenwood, Miss., where she grew up and graduated high school. She met her husband, John Yansky Jr., in Mobile, Ala., while going through U.S. Army nurse's training. The couple marriage in 1947 and had two children.
Because he served the U.S. Air Force, the family moved often, including time in Germany and Great Britain.
After settling in Davis five years ago, Ruby became active in the Sutter Davis Hospital Auxiliary.
She was preceded in death by her husband John Yansky, Jr., granddaughter Tiffany Yansky and great granddaughter Savannah Head.
She is survived by daughter Barbara Ann Laplante and her husband John of El Macero, son John Robert Yansky and his wife Linda of Yorktown, Va.; five grandchildren, Michael Laplante, Christina Head, Matthew Laplante, Michelle Yansky and Jonelle Yansky; and three great grandchildren, McKenna Head, Morgan Laplante and Jorj Hayden Head.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church, 38141 Russell Blvd., Davis.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Davis Senior Center, 646 A St., Davis, CA, or to the American Lung Association.
Davis Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Ramon Hernandez
Ramon Hernandez, a Yolo County resident for 76 years, died July 7, 2003, at in Davis. He was 104.
Born Aug. 13, 1898, in Altata, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, he came to America in the 1920s. He worked for River Farms and area farmers Max Yoledo, Paul Eppler and Tom Barrios until his retirement at age 65.
In 1927 Hernandez was introduced to his wife of 73 years, Frances, in Stockton. They marriage in 1930.
After retiring, he often took his wife on trips to Reno, busied himself working in his vegetable garden and caring for his roses, and doted on his family, especially his grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Ralph Hernandez.
He is survived by his wife Frances of Woodland, son Alex Hernandez and wife Ampara of Woodland, daughters Chris Hernandez of Fairfield, Phyllis Huerta and her husband Richard of Woodland and Delores Ledesma and her husband Bob of Capitola, 12 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
A funeral mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Holy Rosary Church in Woodland, with Burial in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Woodland to follow. Visitation is today until 8 p.m. at McNary's Chapel in Woodland.
Jeanne H. Bishop
Jeanne Bishop died in her sleep at her daughter's Davis home on July 6, 2003. She was 73.
The older of two children, she was born in Bay Shore, N.Y., to Stella and Myron Hafer. Following her education at Syracuse University, she worked in New York City.
There, in 1952, she met Samuel Carter Bishop on a blind date. They marriage six months later, then began a series of moves that found them living in five states in seven years. Along the way, they had four children -- each born in a different state.
In 1961 they moved to Hawaii, where they served as Methodist missionaries for seven years. A job change for her husband brought her to Marin County in 1972.
Because of her frequent moves and her children, Jeanne's professional life was richly varied. It included teaching high school, writing historical documentation for a company importing antiquities from Israel and working as an administrative assistant at UC Davis.
After her husband's death in 1979, she moved from the Bay Area to Winters, where she dedicated herself to her church and the community. She recently moved to Davis, where her daughter's family lives.
Her family said she will be remembered for her wicked sense of humor, bright intellect, ready opinions on almost every subject, her deep spirituality, and her passion for reading, crossword puzzles and her dog Sophie. She enjoyed spending time with her grandsons, especially the teasing that took place when they were together.
She was preceded in death by her son Clay, in 1996, and her husband Sam.
She is survived by daughter Holly Bishop-Green and son-in-law Steve Green of Davis, their sons Sam and Jacob, son Andy Bishop and his sons Drew, Cody and Brett of San Rafael, daughter Patricia Bishop of Yachats, Ore., brother Myron Hafer Jr. and his wife Connie of Lakeland, Fla., and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at the Davis Funeral Chapel, 116 D St.
Richard A. Martinez
Richard A. Martinez of Davis died suddenly on July 4, 2003. He was 72.
Born May 24, 1931, in Nord, he was raised in Arbuckle and moved to Yolo County in 1972.
He enjoyed a lifelong love of farming and took pride in raising quality crops, which his family said he did with a strong and steady hand. He will be remembered for his surety, steadfastness and generosity of spirit, they said.
He is survived by his wife Barbara, daughter Werrie Kasza and her husband Jim of Dixon, son Richard (Rick) and his wife Connie of Woodland; son Joe and his wife Maria of Chico; stepchildren Stewart and William B. Hays of Sacramento and Leslye Hays Lopez and her husband Tony of Dixon; grandchildren Seth Kasza and family of Austin, Texas, Lance Kasza and family of Dixon, Ben and Anna Martinez of Chico, and Toni Martinez of Woodland; step-grandchildren Lori Rogers and family of Woodland, Kari Ramos of Woodland, Alexandria Lopez of Dixon and Veronica Freitas and family of Dixon.
He is also survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Martinez of Arbuckle, brothers Jesse and Ed Martinez of Arbuckle, Robby of Sacramento, sisters Rose Frias of West Sacramento and Alice Dixon of Sacramento, many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held today from 5 to 8 p.m., with a rosary at 7 p.m., at Milton Carpenter Funeral Home, 569 N. First St., Dixon. Graveside services will be held Friday at 10 a.m. in the Dixon Cemetery.
Donations may be made to the giver's charity of choice.
Fern Q. Lo
Fern Quon Lo, a Davis resident for 38 years, died at her daughter's home in Sacramento on July 1, 2003. She was 84.
Born Aug. 24, 1918, in Winnifred, Alberta, Canada, she earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, then continued her graduate work at UC Berkeley. She worked for many years as a microbiologist for Shell Oil Co. before becoming a computer programmer for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
Her interests included politics, current events, business, art, gardening and travel. She was a member of the International House, Davis, Davis Democratic Club, Davis Art Center Guild, Great Decisions Discussion Group, the Farm Circle and Chinese Ladies Luncheon Group. She also traveled and lived in Canada, China, Japan and England.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jung-Pang Lo, a professor of Chinese history, in April 1981.
She is survived by her children, Sandra Lo of Sacramento, Tony Lo of Mountain View and Vicki Lo of Los Angeles, and her grandchildren, Lani, Mei Mei and Jett.
At her request, no services will be held.
Memorials may be made in Fern Lo's name to International House, 10 College Park, Davis, CA 95616. Cards of remembrance and condolence may be sent to the Lo home, 1301 Oak Ave. in Davis.
Arrangements are under the direction of Davis Funeral Chapel.
Katheryn Richie
Katheryn Richie of Madison died in Woodland on July 8, 2003. She was 59.
Richie was born July 28, 1943. She moved to Yolo County 35 years ago and was employed for 15 years as a phone operator at Woodland Memorial Hospital.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter Richie, who died in March 2001.
She is survived by sisters Katie Estrada and Harriet Kelley, both of Woodland, and Eleanor Slawson of Iberia, Mo., brother Claudell Reed of Sacramento, daughters Carla Hernandez and Kimberly Richie, both of Woodland, sons Kevin and Brian Richie of Woodland, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
A funeral was to be held today at 3 p.m. at the New Life Christian Center in Madison, with Burial to follow at Monument Hill Memorial Park.
Memorials may be sent to the American Diabetes Association.
Evergreen Funeral Services is in charge of arrangements.
