Obituaries 4-28-16

Lottie Mae Berry
Lottie Mae Berry, age 87, died on April 10 at home. She was happy to be able to remain in her home with her children and grandchildren helping her. Lottie Mae was preceded in death by her husband Odell Berry and her siblings Mary Ford, Henrietta Bellport and Prosper Hontou. She is survived by her children, Kathy Jojola, Beverley Berry, Julie Berry Giampaoli (Michael) and Richard Berry (Maribeth); grandchildren Jeremy Jojola, Kenneth Berry, Lindsey Berry, Christopher Giampaoli, Sarah Giampaoli, and Casey Berry; and great granddaughter Crysta Jojola.
Lottie Mae was born at home in the Pieta area north of Cloverdale on June 3, 1928 to Marie and Prosper Hontou. She attended school in Cloverdale, graduating from high school in 1946. She married Odell Berry in 1949 and together they raised their family in Cloverdale.
Lottie Mae loved the outdoors. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed watching animals with Odell. She could be described as the “milk and cookie” mother. She loved to bake and was always involved with her children’s activities. She helped with swimming lessons, coached softball teams, was a leader for the Campfire Girls, volunteered at the elementary school and taught catechism at St. Peter’s Catholic Church.
Those wishing to remember Lottie Mae are invited to attend a Rosary and Mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Cloverdale on April 30 at 12 p.m. Immediately following, in the church hall, will be a celebration of her life. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.
Adeline M. Tellez
Adeline M. Tellez died in Healdsburg Hospital Tuesday April 19, at the age of 85. She was the devoted wife of the late Philip T. Tellez, a WWII Veteran, for 54 years. She was the devoted mother of Emma Jean Hunter, Andrew Tellez, Rose Marie Kurth, Joseph Tellez, Bernadette Clifton and Henry Tellez. She was the beloved grandmother of 14 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.
A native of Greely, Colorado, Adeline and Philip settled in Cloverdale in 1969. She devoted her time to her family while Philip worked for Pan American Airlines in San Francisco.
Friends are invited to attend a visitation Wednesday April 27, starting at 5 p.m. followed by a Rosary at 6 p.m. at Fred Young F. H. 428 N. Cloverdale Blvd. Cloverdale. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Peters Catholic Church on Thursday April 28, at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow at Oakmound Cemetery, Healdsburg.
May Aimee Toye Robles
May Aimee Toye Robles died at home in Cloverdale, April 1, at age 77. She was the loving wife of Richard Robles for 30 years, and beloved mother of Joni Wong, Wendy (Phillip) Chun and Kari (Carey) Nielsen. She was the stepmother of Diana Robles, Lynne Capote and Marian Kaeo and the late Jimmy Ortiz, the dear grandmother of eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She is the dear sister of Toy Gin Dear, Anna Chinn, Pearl Joe and the late Milton Ng.
May and Richard came to Cloverdale 16 years ago after living in Clearlake and Pacifica. The owned and operated Robles Fire Protection in San Francisco for many years and Arkko Fire Protection in Cloverdale. May was an active member of St. Peters Church community. She enjoyed the outdoors, traveling with Richard and spending time with friends and family. She spent free time making and creating with her hands. She knitted fingerless gloves, hats for cancer patients, scarves and afghans.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Star of the Sea Catholic Church in San Francisco on Thursday April 21, and interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. A Memorial Rosary will be recited at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at St. Peters Catholic Church, Cloverdale.
John Carlo (Jack) Zanzi
Lifelong Healdsburg resident, John Carlo (Jack) Zanzi passed away Sunday, April 10, 2016 at the age of 88 peacefully with his family by his side
Jack was born and raised in Healdsburg, living most of his life in Sonoma County. Jack graduated from Healdsburg High School, joined the Navy following graduation and upon his return attended barber college in San Francisco. He was the local barber alongside his partner and friend, Duane Herman for 25 years at the Z&H Barber Shop. He then pursued a long successful career in real estate, specializing in vineyards and ranches until his retirement. Jack’s great loves were his family, friends and his community, donating his time to local clubs and charities. Jack was a historian of Healdsburg and the Geyserville area, spinning yarns of those areas and all its residents. Jack loved life and will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him.
Jack is preceded in death by his parents Mario and Freida Zanzi and is survived by his wife Doreene White Wattles Zanzi, son Mike (Sylvia) Zanzi, daughter Tina (Mike) Zanzi-Percey, son Ted Wattles (Vicky), daughter Jill Wattles, grandchildren: Josh Jemelka, Belinda Uribe, Morgan Moore, Nicolas Percey, Melissa Wattles, Dominic Wattles, Mary Percey-Leary, Jennifer Percey and great grandchildren Brooke and Bella Wattles, Mikela and Mason Leary, Leonardo and Julia Fiorucci.
A memorial mass will be celebrated at St. John’s Catholic Church in Healdsburg at 3 p.m., Friday, April 29. Interment was at Oakmound Cemetery. Donations are welcome to the Healdsburg Museum.
Aurelio J. Lopez
Aurelio J. Lopez died on Saturday, April 16, in Healdsburg. His wife, Jeanne Goutkin, and sons, Abram and Mikhail Goutkin-Lopez, were nearby. He was born in 1944 on April 24, a date he had already decorated on the 2016 wall calendar with a hand-drawn cake and 72 candles. The son of Aurelio and Lugarda Lopez, he began life in Willard, New Mexico, but grew up in Oakland and Alameda, attending St. Francis de Sales Parochial School and Encinal High, where he was a varsity football captain and wrestler. Stationed for 13 months in Korea, he served in the U.S. Army until his honorable discharge in 1967, then resumed his education while working for the Santa Fe Railroad, earning his BFA and teaching credentials from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1971, and his Master’s in both Art Education and Fine Arts in 1980. He lived in Sonoma County for 45 years and is also survived by his mother, Lugarda, and brother, Frank Lopez, as well as many nieces and nephews.
A lover of classical music, he played it unceasingly in his classroom at Healdsburg High School where he taught art for 31 years beginning in 1971. Students flocked to his room during their lunch hours, silk-screening, painting, air-brushing, leather-crafting. The unofficial mayor of Healdsburg and of Palomino Lakes, Aurelio inevitably expanded his 10-minute errands into 45-minute conversations as he happily encountered multi-generational families of former students and their parents. A gifted storyteller, he needed only slight encouragement to begin entertaining family and friends with elaborate tales of his childhood and offbeat adventures.
Small in stature, but larger than life, Aurelio was determined to personally see and sketch every 13th century fresco in Firenze and every panda in the United States. He cooked, as he did everything else, with passion, putting his unique stamp on his favorite America’s Test Kitchen recipes. He took note of everything around him and tried his best to paint it all. Each time he stopped in delight to point out a carving on a column, a hidden bird or a lone wildflower, he both expanded our world and included us in his. A prolific creator of illustrated cards and letters, each an individual work of art, he loved sending them daily from his home near Asti to friends and relatives across the universe. His personal life was wholly centered on his wife, his two sons, and his Westie dog, Waldo.
Donations in his memory can be made to the California Arts Council. A celebration of his life will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, at the Alexander Valley Community Hall, 5512 State Hwy 128, in Geyserville. Friends are encouraged to bring with them any art they received from Aurelio over the years. “It takes life to love life.” (Edgar Lee Masters)