Bernice Ann ‘Barney’ Albright

Bernice Ann 'Barney' Albright, 79, died Tuesday, Jan. 24 with her family by her side at Oak Valley Hospital.

John Martin Miller

John Martin Miller, 76, died Wednesday, Jan. 25, surrounded by his wife, children, and sister at Memorial Hospital, Modesto.

Manuel Garcia

Manuel Garcia, 75, died Thursday, Jan. 19 of natural causes in Oakdale. He was born in Winslow, Arizona and lived in the Oakdale area for most of his life. Mr. Garcia served in the U.S. Air Force. He was a beverage manager. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. He is survived by his children, Elizabeth (Lisa) Gonzales, Pamala Martin, both of Oakdale, Chris Edwards of Lakeport, Victoria Garcia-Corona of Waterford; mother, Socorro ...

Thomas Milton ‘Tom’ Sams

Thomas Milton 'Tom' Sams, 77, of Oakdale died peacefully Thursday, Jan. 19 surrounded by his family at Oak Valley Hospital.

Shirley Gannon

Shirley Gannon, 74, died Tuesday, Jan. 17 in Chico. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and lived in Oakdale for more than 30 years before moving to Chico. Ms. Gannon was a Certified Nursing Assistant, and in the 1970s she was the head waitress/manager of Marty's Pizza and Smorgee in Oakdale. She was a member of Eastern Star. She was loved and is missed. She is survived by her sons, Robert Gannon of Crescent City, ...

Cindy (Higgs) Wandler

Cindy (Higgs) Wandler, 55, died Saturday, Jan. 14 at her Visalia home. She was born in Oakdale the oldest of three children born to Delbert Wayne and Merle Higgs. She graduated from Oakdale High School. Her greatest joys in life were her family and her faith in the Lord. She was the heart of her family. She is survived by her husband of more than 35 years, Jim Wandler; daughter, Erin Wandler; sister, Marlena Reese; ...

Grace B. Russell

Grace B. Russell, 90, of Escalon died Thursday, Jan. 12 of natural causes in Oakdale. She was born in New York, N.Y. She was a resident of the Oakdale area for 37 years. She served as an officer in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) and saw two tours of duty: World War II and the Korean conflict. She was among the first troops to occupy Berlin and saw the European theater of Allied operations with ...

Henry Burtschi

Henry Burtschi, 85, died peacefully on Wednesday, Jan. 11 in the Oakdale home he and his wife Lena built, surrounded by his wife and family.

Betty Jane ‘Bubbles’ Dutra

Betty Jane 'Bubbles' Dutra, 86, died Tuesday, Jan. 10. She was born in Springfield, Mo. and lived in a few other Midwest states before moving to Southern California. She moved to in Oakdale in 1959 and remained here, working as a waitress for several employers including the Live Oak Café, Nelson's Restaurant, The Busy Bee, and Hildegard's Deli. She retired in 1991. Ms. Dutra was a past president of her local Grandmother's Club and joyfully ...

Donna L. Lerch Roberts

Donna L. Lerch Roberts, 65, died Sunday, Jan. 1. She was the daughter of Ellsworth R. Lerch and Pearl L. Lerch of Oakdale. Upon graduating from Oakdale High School, she worked as a bookkeeper for most of her life. She worked for Ultra Mart in the corporate office, training employees across California. Ms. Roberts resided half the year in Oakdale and spent the other half in Parker, Ariz. She was a member of St. Mathias ...

Carol Sue Barnes

Carol Sue Barnes, 62, died Monday, Jan. 2 in Modesto. She was born in Oakdale and lived here 62 years. Mrs. Barnes attended Oak Valley Church. She is survived by her children, David Barnes, Keith Barnes, Chasidy Barnes, all of Oakdale; siblings, Steve Blake of Turlock, Shirley Graser, Darla Barrow Mullins, both of Oakdale; grandchildren, Austin and Haley Barnes. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jim Barnes; and parents, Curtis and Betty Blake. ...

Ronnie A. ‘Ron’ Dodd

Ronnie A. 'Ron' Dodd, 71, died Thursday, Jan. 5 at his second home in Thousand Palms after a battle with cancer.

George C. ‘Trey’ Jones III

George C. 'Trey' Jones III, 48, died peacefully on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at his home with his son and other family members at his side.

Charles Learoy Pearson

Charles Learoy Pearson, 69, died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011. He was raised in the Central Valley with 12 brothers and one sister. He was a husband, father, brother, best friend, and a brave man. He met and married the love of his life, Diana (Bentley) Pearson. They had many adventures from farming grapes to raising cattle on their ranch in Oakdale. Mr. Pearson worked for Teichert Construction as an underground foreman. He and his son ...

James Lewis ‘Jim’ Schmitt

James Lewis 'Jim' Schmitt, 86, died Tuesday, Jan. 3 at Oak Valley District Hospital after a brief illness caused by complications from a tractor injury he suffered in May of 2009.

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 ...

Leland Ude

Dr. Leland K. Ude, 87, died Saturday, Feb. 16. He was a longtime resident of Oakdale, working as a chiropractor from 1950 until retiring in 1991. He was very involved with the Oakdale Kiwanis, Sportsman and Dinner Clubs, as well as the Parks and Recreation Board for Stanislaus County until the 1970s, where he oversaw the development of Woodward and Modesto Reservoirs and Fox Grove. <p ...

Barbara White

Barbara White passed away on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 at the Riverbank Nursing Center, where she had lived for the past few years. She is survived by her mother, Frances Willett; sisters Sharon White and Debbie Willett; brother Joe Willett; daughters Dianne Sforza of Modesto and Sandy Leonard of Riverbank. She also had eight grandchildren, living in Riverbank and Modesto. Services were at ...