Wesley William ‘Wes’ Firch

Wesley William 'Wes' Firch, 90, died Monday, July 23 in Sacramento. He was born in Green River, Illinois on April 21, 1922. His family moved to the Escalon area in 1936. He worked on the family farm after high school graduation. Early in 1945, he joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to the Pacific. He received the Victory in the Pacific medal. After the war, he returned to farming. He married Rae Sturzl ...

Beverly A. Goodner

Beverly A. Goodner, 71, died Thursday, July 26 at Oak Valley Hospital. She worked for Sacramento Savings and Oak Valley Community Bank. Mrs. Goodner was a resident of Oakdale. She was a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West Oakdale #125, the Lupus Foundation of San Jose, and volunteered for the Society for the Handicapped. She is survived by her sons, Tim Goodner of Hughson, Rodney (Krickett) Goodner, Mike (Kim) Goodner, all of ...

John J. Solus

John J. Solus, 51, died Friday, July 13 from a massive stroke at a hospital in Bismark, N.D. He was a longtime resident of Oakdale. He is survived by his mother, Audrey Solus; brothers, Anthony Solus, Mike McQuillan, Mark Haveman; and sisters, Shirley Ebert, Patricia Coleman, Darlene Dixon. A celebration of life will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11 at Kerr Park, Oakdale.

Ronald Ray Merryman

Ronald Ray Merryman, 75, died Thursday, July 19 after extended illnesses at his Oakdale home. He was born in San Jose, one of four children, to Raymond and Ruth (Ledford) Merryman. He graduated from Turlock High School and later joined the U.S. Navy. In the Navy he worked as a helicopter mechanic. After his honorable discharge from the Navy, he studied welding at Modesto Junior College. Mr. Merryman worked for 30 years as a machinist ...

Josephine Cecilia Costa

Josephine Cecilia Costa, 80, died Sunday, July 15 after an extended illness at her home. She was born to Frank R. and Rosalind (Bulcao) Furtado in Byron. Mrs. Costa was a homemaker and a retired teamster. She enjoyed traveling, painting, spinning, quilting, gardening, cooking, the ocean, and most of all her family. She was a generous, hardworking, happy, opinionated, enthusiastic, and loving person. She loved her family and was a wonderful mom, sister, grandmother and ...

Bryon Martin

Bryon Martin, 37, died Monday, July 16 in Modesto. He was born in Sonora on July 22, 1974. He lived his entire life in Oakdale. He graduated from Oakdale High School in 1992. He was known for being a great athlete. He attended Modesto Junior College and attended Real Estate Broker College in Sacramento. Mr. Martin was a branch manager for Transamerica, Ameriquest, and Titanium mortgage companies in the Central Valley. He and some of ...

Margaret McKeon

Margaret McKeon, 76, died unexpectedly on Saturday, July 21 in Carmel with her loving husband Sandy by her side to the end.

John C. Mercurio, Sr.

John C. Mercurio, Sr., 77, died Wednesday, July 18 at Oak Valley Care Center after a battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Josephine Kelsay

Josephine Kelsay, 95, a resident of Stanislaus County for 88 years, passed away on Sunday, July 15 at her home in Oakdale surrounded by her loving family.

R.L. “Pete” Ball

R.L. "Pete" Ball, 87, passed away on Tuesday, July 10, 2012. He was born Jan. 6, 1925 at Hydro to Eunice Walden Ball and Ed Ball. He moved to Oakdale, CA in 1942 and lived out his life there. He loved listening to sports on radio, especially baseball; radio also afforded him an opportunity to worship the Lord. Pete came to the Lord through Billy Graham's radio ministry. He also enjoyed and made many friends ...

Deborah Suzanne ‘Debi’ Stone

Deborah Suzanne 'Debi' Stone, 50, died Thursday, June 21. She was born in Long Beach and lived in various locations in California before moving to Phoenix, Ariz. where she attended Corona del Sol High School. Mrs. Stone and her husband moved to Oakdale in 1988. After 15 years in Oakdale, they returned to Tempe, Ariz. to be closer to her husband's family, especially his parents, Fred and Phyllis Stone. She has left a lasting legacy ...

Wylda Pauline Wiley

Wylda Pauline Wiley, 87, died Wednesday, July 4 in Oakdale. She was born in Ventura. Ms. Wiley lived in Oakdale and attended Oak Valley Community Church. She is survived by her siblings, Don (Louise) Hanna of Yuba City, Travis (Margarit) Hanna of Ft. Worth, Texas; five sister-in-laws; five brother-in-laws; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, James B. Wiley. A service will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July ...

Kimberly Stogdell

Oakdale High School counselor Kimberly Stogdell, 52, died Sunday, July 1 at home after a short battle with cancer.

Rick Lee McCormack

Rick Lee McCormack, 52, died Monday, June 25 in Oakdale. He was born May 28, 1960 in Walla Walla, Wash. and was a longtime resident of Oakdale. Mr. McCormack worked at United Airlines in San Francisco as a sheet metal mechanic for 24 years. He was a beloved husband, father, and "papa." He will be greatly missed. He is survived by his loving wife of 33 years, Linda (Kuppens) McCormack; daughter, Crystal (Chris) Richter; son, ...

Debra Repayo

Debra Repayo, 59, died Tuesday, July 3 after a long illness. She was born in Oakdale to Lumin and Gloria Repayo and lived most of her life in Stanislaus County. After graduating from Oakdale High School with the class of 1971, she joined the United States Navy and was stationed in Maryland and Florida. She remained in active service until her honorary discharge in 1976. Ms. Repayo then returned to Oakdale and held various jobs ...

Lena Blaser Burtschi

Lena Blaser Burtschi, 86, died Monday, Feb. 18.

Joseph Akana ‘Butch’ Flores

Joseph Akana 'Butch' Flores, 65, died Thursday, Feb. 14 of natural causes at home surrounded by loved ones.

Lila “Lee” DePriest Forbes

Lila "Lee" DePriest Forbes, 92, died Monday, Feb. 18 in Turlock.

Joyce Earlee Gladys

Joyce Earlee Gladys, 68, died Friday, Feb. 22 of pancreatic cancer in Oakdale.

Col. Kenneth Lee Moll

Col. Kenneth Lee Moll, 85, died Thursday, Feb. 21 in Alexandria, Va.

F M Mooney

F M Mooney, 96, died quietly Thursday, Feb. 21.

Robert Paul ‘Bob’ Reed

Robert Paul 'Bob' Reed, 69, died Sunday, Feb. 17 at home in Soulsbyville, with his wife and daughters at his side after a longstanding battle with Alzheimer's. He was born in Hinckley, Minn. He lived in Oakdale for 25 years and lived in Soulsbyville for the last 13 years. Mr. Reed was an educator and humbly affected countless lives throughout his 69 years of life and 36 years as ...

Donna Joyce (Johnson) Smallwood

Donna Joyce (Johnson) Smallwood, 75, died Monday, Feb. 18 in Sonora.

McNeil Ballard, Jr.

McNeil J. 'Jim' Ballard, Jr., 77, died Monday, Feb. 11 from a very fast acting cancer at home, surrounded by his family. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. His family moved all around the United States as he grew up. He went to Los Gatos High School, went into the Air Force, and graduated from Northwestern University. Mr. Ballard's first job after college was ...

Mary Jo Banducci

James Capley

James Allen Capley, 73, died Friday, Feb. 15. He was born in Whittier to Mellie and Eugene Capley. He decided at a very early age that he wanted to become a cowboy. He was just that and loved every bit of horseshoeing, working cattle, and training horses. Mr. Capley lived in Oakdale for more than 40 years and was loved by many. He ...

Mildred Downing

Mildred Downing, 86, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. She was born to Harold Vail and Esther Finfrock in Hines (now Paramount) California on Jan. 13, 1927. She was oldest of five children. She grew up in Bellflower, and graduated from Excelsior High School. She was a secretary at Republic Supply near Los Angeles, CA. One of her greatest joys as a young adult was taking her younger ...

Dorothy Lajeunesse

Dorothy Lajeunesse, 89, died Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Alexander Cohen Hospice House after a battle with cancer. She was born in Santa Rosa, the daughter of John and Helen Irwin. She grew up in Oakland and graduated from Oakland Technical High School. In 1990, she moved to Oakdale to be closer to her family after retiring from Brockway Glass Credit Union. Survivors include ...

Suzanne Holtan

Suzanne (Feichter) Holtan, 65, died Friday, Feb. 8 at UC Davis Medical Center after a long battle with heart-lung disease. She was a graduate of Oakdale High School and then lived in the Bay Area for many years. She retired to Twin Falls, Idaho with her husband Sam and granddaughter Amber. After her husband's death, she moved to Oakdale in 2009. Survivors include her granddaughter, Amber ...

Graham Sorensen

Graham James Sorensen, 77, died peacefully on Thursday, Feb. 14 after a brief illness, surrounded by his family at Doctor's Hospital, Modesto. He was born in Salinas, the son of Adolph and Ada Sorensen. He attended schools in Salinas and was a graduate of Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo. He served in the Army National Guard. Mr. Sorensen worked many years for ...