United States High School Yearbooks by County
Eudocia R. Contreras
Services will be today and Saturday for Eudocia Romero Contreras, who died Tuesday at her Watsonville home. She was 93.
Mrs. Contreras was born in Sonora, Mexico, and lived in the area for 42 years. She loved to sew, read and spend time with her family.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Edward Contreras of Watsonville; son Arthur Contreras of Arizona; daughters Vera Celis and Esther Cervantes, both of Watsonville, Josephine Ramos and Teresa Tapia, both of Arizona, Sandy Helsper of Palos Verdes, Mary Grace Concepcion of Salinas and Irene Flores of Hollister; 34 grandchildren; 64 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great-grandchildren.
Her son, George Contreras, died in 1994.
Friends may call from 2-5 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. today at Davis Memorial Chapel, 609 Main St., Watsonville.
A rosary service will be 7 p.m. today at Davis Memorial.
Graveside services will be 9 a.m. Saturday at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Prunedale.
November 15, 2002
Grace Erna Whale
Services will be private for Grace Erna Whale, who died Thursday in Santa Ana. She was 95.
Mrs. Whale was born in Chile, where she lived until she was 21. She moved to Mount Hermon in 1958 and lived there for almost 30 years.
She attended Biola University and the Chicago School of Nursing and Secretarial Training. She worked 28 years as a missionary in Africa, from 1930 to 1958.
At Mount Hermon, Mrs. Whale taught bible classes and prepared missionaries for service. Some of her notes, on such topics as scriptural praying and the Psalms, have been published.
Her husband, Fred B. Whale, and her son and daughter died before her.
A private service will be Tuesday at Felton Cemetery.
Contributions are preferred to the F.B. and Grace Whale Student Scholarship Fund, Simpson College, 2211 College View Dr., Redding, CA 96003.
Arrangements are by Pacific Gardens Chapel.
November 17, 2002
John P. Biondi
Services will be Tuesday for John P. Biondi, who died in his Scotts Valley home Saturday surrounded by family. He was 94.
Mr. Biondi was born in 1908 in Collinsville, Ill. At age 14, he moved to Santa Cruz and attended Santa Cruz High School. He worked in San Francisco until 1940, when he became a plant engineer for Walti Shillings, where he worked until 1963.
Mr. Biondi was a past president of the Eagles and the Scotts Valley Golf Men’s Club, a member of the Elks Lodge, and member and past president of the Marconi Club.
Mr. Biondi was an avid hunter, fisherman and golfer, as well as gardener. Friends called him the "Fix-It" man because there was nothing he could not repair. When he was no longer able to play golf, he gathered used golf clubs and made them into walking canes for the Santa Cruz Stroke Center, Veteran’s Hospital in Palo Alto and for Mexico’s elderly. At age 93, he bought a computer and spent many hours trying to master it.
He is survived by wife, Sally, of Scotts Valley; sons Wayne and John, both of Santa Cruz; sisters Angie Parodi of Scotts Valley and Emma Abinante of San Jose; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren, all of Santa Cruz County.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Oakwood Memorial Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz.
Arrangements are by Benito & Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel, 1050 Cayuga St. Santa Cruz.
Contributions are preferred to the American Cancer Society, 1555 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95065.
November 18, 2002
June Atwood
Services will be Saturday for June Atwood, who died Nov. 10 in Santa Cruz. She was 79.
Mrs. Atwood was born in San Francisco and was part of the pioneering Turner family, who settled in the Placerville area in 1848. She moved to Santa Cruz in 1945.
Mrs. Atwood served as secretary for the 12th Naval District in San Francisco during World War II.
In Santa Cruz, she was active in several school and athletic organizations while raising four sons. She also worked in the voter registrar’s office and was active in the Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Atwood was an artist skilled in various areas, family members say.
She was a member of the Rug-Hooking Guild, the Isabella Rebekah Lodge and was a past president of the Tri League of Santa Cruz.
Prior to her illness, she enjoyed frequent walks along the coast.
She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Alec George Atwood Jr. of Santa Cruz; sons Terry Atwood of Pasco, Wash.; Rick Atwood of Molalla, Ore.; Bob Atwood of Auburn and Mike Atwood of Livingston, Mont.; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Oakwood Memorial Park Crystal Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz (adjacent to Dominican Hospital).
Mrs. Atwood will be buried in the Turner family’s historic plot in Oroville.
Contributions are preferred in her name to the Alzheimer’s Association of Santa Cruz County, 1777 Capitola Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95062.
November 19, 2002
Ronald Earl Crooks
Services will be Thursday for Ronald Earl Crooks, who died Friday in Watsonville. He was 71.
Mr. Crooks was born in Tulare and was a member of a pioneer family who settled in Porterville in the 1880s to farm wheat and to teach. He lived in Watsonville for 39 years.
Mr. Crooks was a sheet metal worker employed by George H. Wilson Inc. for many years.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, making radio-controlled model airplanes and camping in his recreational vehicle with his wife, Patricia.
Mr. Crooks was a volunteer firefighter with the La Selva Beach Volunteer Fire Department and a member of the Methodist Church in Porterville and Watsonville.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Patricia Crooks of Watsonville; son David E. Crooks of Richfield; daughters Debbie Sloan of San Jose and Pamela G. Crooks of Soquel; four grandchildren; one niece; one nephew; and numerous cousins.
Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Vandalia Cemetery in Porterville.
Contributions are preferred to the American Heart Association, 1710 Gilbreath Road, Burlingame, CA 94010.
Arrangements are by Mehl’s Colonial Chapel.
November 19, 2002
Rosita D. Tabasa-Estrada
Services will be Friday for Rosita D. Tabasa-Estrada, longtime owner of Watsonville’s popular Philippine Gardens Cafe, who died Nov. 4 in the Philippines. She was 90.
Mrs. Estrada was well-known in the local Filipino community. A native of Tigayon, Capiz Province, The Philippines, she moved to Seattle with her family in 1933. She moved to Santa Cruz County in the late 1930s to help her brother, newspaper publisher Juan Dionisio, write a story about the Filipinos in Davenport and South County.
She returned to the Philippines in 1992.
Mrs. Estrada met her husband, Jesus Torrente Tabasa, in Watsonville and the couple opened the town’s first Filipino restaurant in 1939, Oriental Cafe, later known as Philippine Gardens Cafe.
The restaurant, replete with a card club in the back, lasted for 50 years until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake forced its closure.
The cafe was not only the sole restaurant in the area serving dishes such as dinuguguan - pig intestine marinated in vinegar and blood - it was a center of local Filipino culture and a meeting place long before senior centers were created.
It was included in a county history course at Cabrillo College and became a stop for students on ethnic tours.
The couple also owned rental housing, a second restaurant, a pool hall and a barber shop.
Mrs. Estrada worked closely with several Watsonville mayors as a community liaison and represented Filipinos in groups such as Project Scout and the Equal Opportunity Commission.
She worked on many local events, including the Fourth of July parade, political rallies and held an annual Christmas party at the restaurant for customers and friends.
Mrs. Estrada was a founder of the Filipino Women’s Club and a statewide officer of the women’s auxiliary of the fraternal organization Caballeros De Dimas Alang.
She graduated from San Francisco Normal School and attended College of the Pacific.
After her 1992 retirement, Mrs. Estrada and her husband moved to the Philippines and continued to be active in local and island politics.
She is survived by daughters Francine Lopes of Nevada and Susan Cruz of San Diego; sons Jess Tabasa of Aptos, Gregory Tabasa of Honolulu and Dan Tabasa of Taipei, Taiwan; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Friends may call 5-9 p.m. Thursday at Mehl’s Colonial Chapel in Watsonville.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Friday at St. Patrick’s Church, followed by Burial at Watsonville Catholic Cemetery.
November 20, 2002
