Philomae Dixon Cleo Jones Bernice Booker Alfred Franceshi
Walter McDaniel Lanelle Matthews Percy Klimisch Tillie
Peggy Bassford Byrd
Maria Mattos Duarte LaVonne Eyres
Cecilia Nunez Ivarn Foulk Hyther Butts Eddie Martinez
Morgan Mary Toriello Mae Lofgren
Chinnock Stella Hendrickson
Hazel Coppock
Charles Gilbert
Dorothy Hines Grace Peterson
Betta Watson
Maria Machado Teruo
Lilia Abastillas Hughlon Moak Lena Yolo
Ivy Brittan Bill Ahl Melba Lofgren
Murray Schacht Esther Krum
Carmen Tomas
Horton Cyril O’Neil Harold Hall Euratee Draper Bruce Sooy Jose Reyes Virginia
Elizabeth Tate Ada Dito Theodore Mertz Phyllis Craig Grace Miyagashima Marian
Dorothy Soto Vivien Bean
Marian Coles Laverne Thompson Virginia Mangabat Dorothy
Valerie Rowden John Gonge
Seymour Marcuse Erma
Fiorentini Slavka Scott Ann Stamps William Anderson Harcharan Singh Ed Case Ethel
Joseph Piazza Anna Conger
Mildred Pezzaglia Harry Verbeek Marge Bors Agnes
Helen Devlin Laureana Paluero Agnes Bonds Oakley Dexter Elena Bautista Dometila
Gerevas Hazel Booher Irene Bruce Lois Monez Eddie Crummie Richard Marsch Rose
Gladys Helmer Stephen Shanahan
Leona Burns Myra Keplinger
Stella Roybal Philip Yaggy
Franceshi Maria Tobias Galang
Marie West Anita Parker
Ursula Malloch
Margaret White Viola Josey Claire Miller
Robert
Robert Daine
Guillermo Velasco Ricardo Montalvan Virginia Noordyk
Delois Brasher Leona Elledge Lilia Rhodes
Tillie Loya Ed Dillion Eleanor Marshall Harry Carsch Maria Tavanier
Gerald Simoni Jessie Payne
Marvel Brewer
Shirley Helmich
Maria Galang Tillie Golden Marguerite Messenger Dona
Consolacion Asuncion Charlotte Hahn
Teruo Miyagishima Eunice Root
Peter Caggiano Lupe Ramos
Charley Callaway Jr Basilisa Ilog Gwendolyn
Xanthia Warrenv
Mary Louise Rhemus
Marie Westcot Marian Warner
Earl
Richard Betchley Navarre
Marshall
Solano County
Board of Supervisors Board of Supervisors of
The Solano County Board of Supervisors is honored to share its 19th annual Centenarian Commemoration with you.
This yearbook is a tribute to this county’s oldest living residents. The pictures and stories inside this document highlight the lives and contributions of the Greatest Generation, Rosie the Riveters, war veterans, community leaders, mothers, fathers, grandparents and great grandparents.
These individuals have contributed so much and are truly the fabric of our society. We can learn a lot from our centenarians and we feel it is important to listen to their stories, gain insight from their world view with the understanding that their lived experience is unlike that of so many others.
Each centenarian listed in this yearbook has made a lasting contribution to their families and those around them. We cannot measure the value they continue to bring to us all, but we strive to recognize them and offer a platform for their voices. This recognition also serves as a tribute to those who had sadly passed away during the calendar year.
We hope you get some enjoyment out of perusing this document and take a moment to reflect on everything that our oldest living residents have provided to us.
Lilia ABASTILLAS
Irene ACUNA
Farideh AMIRKHIZI
Leona BURNS
Peggy BASSFORD BYRD
Mary CALDERON
Patricia CASTRO
Lupe CERNA
Marian COLES
Helen DEVLIN
Oakley DEXTER
Adelina DIAZ
Charles DOHS
Jean FALKOWSKI
Jonnie GIBSON
John F. GONGE
Regina T. GRAVES
Shirley HELMICH
Luther HENDRICKS
Dorothy HERGER
Virginia HERMAN
Shirley IBEY
Helen JACKS
Pearl JOE
Carmen JOHNSON
Jacoba KOVISTO
Ruth Mae Harris LOVE
Eugene LYONS
Virginia MANGABAT
Rosa CortÉs MANZO
Lanelle MATTHEWS
Helen Louise MELVIN
Arlene MOORE
Tillie NICHOLAS
Doña Cecilia NUÑEZ
Virginia Ruth PLUNKETT
Evelyn PODOJIL
Louis Mack REESE, Sr.
Josephine SEIFERT
Millie STRESSENGER
Elizabeth TATE
Maria TAVENIER
Elizabeth THOMAS
Gloria TOWNSEND
Mildred VELKY
Guadalupe VIDALES
Margaret e. WHITE
Josephine WILLIAMS
Emma Lee WOODSON
Ara YAGER
Leona YOUNG
a Century ...in the making
Whether you worked on a farm, were a homemaker, or fought the good fight, each and every one of us has a story to tell, it is just a matter of being ready to listen.
For our 2025 Centenarians, we have the ability to hear the stories from those who have lived for a century.
There are stories of joining the war effort overseas and at home; of starting businesses from nothing; and discovering a lifetime passion that keeps them motivated.
Take a moment to learn their secret to longevity, their stories of love, tales to astonish, and their most memorable moments of a life well-lived. These are your Centenarians
Abastillas Lilia Queneri
Lilia was born in Sariaya, Quezon in the Philippines.
She has four children, Nelson, Lilian, Dante, and Raquel with most of her family currently residing in Solano County.
Lilia says her most memorable experiences are getting to watch her grandchildren grow up, getting married, and then seeing her great grandchildren grow up.
When she's not spending time with her extended family, Lilia likes to play the piano, sing, and read the bible.
Her secret to longevity is being a spiritual woman, a milk drinker, cheese eater, and a music lover. She knows how to entertain herself and relieve stress by playing the piano and singing.
Acuna Irene Gustafson
Irene was born in South Dakota where she still remembers attending a one-room school, but her family moved to Oregon in 1933.
In 1953, after her son Jerry was kidnapped, she tracked him down to California and was eventually the one that found him! She would shortly move to Santa Barabara after his rescue.
Irene helped the war effort by working as a Rosie the Riveter in Richmond, California, then transitioned her technical skills to be a telephone operator and an x-ray technician before retirement.
Even after retirement, Irene stayed active despite limited mobility. She traveled to the Holy Land in the 1970’s, but also has enjoyed making greeting cards, playing a rousing game of bingo, and attending church.
Her secret to longevity is she never had a car. She walked everywhere until she was 93. She recommends doing everything in moderation, laughing to excess, and praying without ceasing and resting in the promise of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amirkhizi Farideh
Farideh Amirkhizi was born Jan 15, 1921, in Tabriz, Iran. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in an all-female college and became a teacher. She was an elementary teacher and later vice-principal until she retired. She and her husband Cyrus Pakbaz moved to France to a little town near Lake Lemond for about 12 years. Cyrus then encountered some medical issues, and they moved to California in 1985 to be closer to their two sons and family.
Farideh was an artist, not only could she draw, but she was also an expert seamstress, and did embroidery on dresses, belts, and even shoes, which were talked about wherever she went.
Farideh enjoyed working outside taking care of the garden. She had a green thumb and could tell you everything about plants and trees. She enjoyed cooking and traveling whenever she could. Around 2011 she started to suffer from memory loss which gradually got worse. In 2015 her husband passed, and she moved to Vacaville to a memory care facility.
After a couple of years, she suffered from a hip injury impacting her mobility and is now residing at Fairfield Post-Acute Rehab. Farideh has eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She loves animals, especially cats, cookies, and hot tea, which her son brings to her every week when he visits.
Secret to longevity: perhaps her love for tea.
Burns Leona
Leona was born in Oakland, California, and began working at the Alameda Naval Air Station where she would eventually meet her husband, Roy. Later, she worked for Rockwell as a secretary/typist.
Her high school girls group called the EN girls, has remained a vital part of Lee's life, a group that met every month for lunch for years, and the remaining three still get together for luncheons and their daughters join them. They have lifted each other up all these years.
Leona and her husband Roy were married for 71 years. They would make memories traveling across the United States and even to other countries; occasionally stopping to visit with relatives or getting to welcome them to her house.
Through the years, her hobbies included knitting, crocheting, and sewing. She was engaged with her children’s Blue Birds and Girl Scout projects and many
children’s activities. She did extensive traveling in and outside of the U.S. and has square danced in many countries. As members of the SIRS organization with her husband they also traveled with that group and did many activities and outreach with them. She also enjoyed playing cards, board games and visits with relatives.
Lee enjoys playing Phase 10 cards, going to concerts at the Lodge residence, going on day trips to the ocean, Napa wine country drives, visiting grandchildren and attending their sports activities. She enjoys dining out with her friends from high school as well as going to the Benicia Waterfront to picnic and watch the boats, ships, and children on the beach.
Her daughter doesn't imagine that there's any specific "secret" to longevity but attributes it to her connection with family, engaging with the community through games and performances, and staying active.
Bassford Byrd Peggy
Peggy was born and raised in Vacaville, California, to a farming family where she was the youngest of four children.
Growing up on the farm with a large family, she would always have people to play with, and they would find new ways of occupying their time after school ranging from biking to a nearby pool, playing kick the can, to swinging on the grapevines; even though they would convince her cousin to go first to test for stability.
While in school, Peggy would help out at the farm by picking cherries and plums before working as a candy striper at Travis Air Force Base to help the returning soldiers. Graduating during World War II meant going to work, "There was too much to do and not enough people to do it," so she took a job at the Benicia Arsenal.
Peggy met her first husband while working at the Benicia Arsenal; while he was working under a commanding officer and while the marriage to him wouldn't last long, she was blessed with two children: Sandy and Lynn. She would remarry when her daughters were in high school but that too was short-lived
After the war had ended, Peggy took a job as a bankerteller slowly working her way up to being a loan officer where she stayed until her retirement after fifty years. Peggy still lives on the same farm that she was born on and while she would occasionally move away, she would always find her way back home in a few months.
Her secret to longevity is she did what she wanted to do, claiming "I was my own boss.”
Calderon Mary
Mary Calderón was born in Vacaville, California, at a ranch located on English Hills Road, where her family had migrated to in the early 1920’s, from Los Altos de Jalisco, Mexico. Her father, who had previously worked for a rancher there, made the decision to move his family to Vacaville during this era of the roaring 20’s. She has fond memories of playing with her older siblings, especially when they would play near the shallow creek that ran through the property and seeing the many ducks and ducklings and enjoying the nice long summer days of playing in the orchard and enjoying the fruit.
Her early childhood years changed dramatically in 1931, as her father made the decision for his family to return to Mexico due to the depression. Once back Mary went to school in town and also spent weekends and summers at their ranch a few miles away. She didn’t return to California until spring of 1947, when she and her brother came to visit her aunt in Fairfield. This ended up being a ‘dramatic lifetime change’ for her as she met her future husband, Al Calderón, who had just returned from serving in World War II. He was staying with his sister, who was a very good friend and neighbor of her aunt.
After a short courtship, Mary and Al were married and 1948 and moved to their first home in Santa Clara, where Al worked at a lumber mill. They soon had their daughter and remained in Santa Clara until 1952; when they moved to Fairfield where her husband came to work for the Fairfield school district’s maintenance department. As in many areas at the time, several schools were being built in Fairfield.
Mary and Al welcomed a son in 1952. Mary, like most women in the 1950s, took on the role of stay-at-home mom. However, Mary was determined to perfect her English and took ESL classes when possible.
Mary shared many stories of her childhood in the town where she went to school and was active in church activities. She also loved going to the ranch where they
would swim in the river, go hiking, ride burros and assist with ranch chores. She is always happy to be out and about on the county roads, looking at the pastures, the orchards and the farm animals.
In the 1960’s she started doing seasonal work for Tapatco company as a seamstress. She continued doing seasonal work until the mid-1970’s when the company relocated out of state and closed their factory in Fairfield.
She has been a parishioner of Holy Spirit Parish since 1952 and a member of the 9 am mass choir from 1970 until 2020 when services were stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She treasures the many people and friendships of choir members and the clergy.
Mary had kept busy after retirement enjoying her six grandchildren and assisting with babysitting duties at times; and now has eight great-grandchildren that she loves to see. She also volunteered with the Meals on Wheels program for several years as well as performed poll worker volunteer duties and jury duty,
Although now almost 100, she continues to stay active - she insists: “You have to keep Moving!”
She has a very positive outlook on life and reminds all her family that things will be fine and not to get about your age…it’s just a number!
Cerna Lupe
Lupe was born and raised in LaJunta, Colorada, as well as Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. She is the oldest of three brothers and five sisters. She loved attending school in Juarez, where she learned to read and write. Lupe really enjoyed her teacher and learned the proper way of speaking and writing Castilian Spanish, which she would go home and share with her parents.
In addition to living in Mexico, Lupe moved around to other agricultural areas such as San Bernardino and the Imperial Valley, which included Brawley and El Centro. In the San Joaquin Valley she worked in Fresno, Five Points, Delano and later, in Wapato, Toppenish and Granger in Yakima, Washington.
During World War II, when Lupe was 16, she attended trade school where she learned how to work a lathe making bolts and nuts, which she really enjoyed. Upon graduation from the trade school, the teacher said she was qualified to work at the Boeing factory in Seattle, but her father said she was too young and refused to let her go.
Lupe met her future husband, Albert, in March 1940 while having dinner at a relative’s home. While Lupe said she wasn’t fond of him at first, he was persistent and kept coming to dinner at her parent’s home. Albert grew on Lupe, and they were married in 1942. Lupe and Albert had five children, and the family would expand to ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Lupe and Albert worked in agriculture most of their lives, including 22 years in Wapato, Washington. They moved to Dixon, California, in 1961. They grew truck crops, field and row crops, seed crops and raised cattle, pigs and chickens. They retired from farming in 1982.
After farming, Lupe worked in a jewelry store in Davis, California, where she assisted in language interpretation. She also worked in migrant education for the Solano County school district program where she took children to school. Lupe was also an inspector
for 20 years, helping at polling locations for Spanish and English-speaking voters. Her career also included utilizing her interpretation at UC Davis, Carls, Jr., and a coffee store to assist Spanish-speaking students and workers.
Lupe’s hobby included growing flowers in her greenhouse and assembling flower arrangements. She was always on the look-out for unique plants. She prepared flower arrangements for weddings, graduations, birthdays, reunions and barbecues for school.
Lupe’s secret to longevity comes from learning to cook from her mother. She always lived in the country where there was open land and all the food that the family consumed was grown on the farm. Everything was grown or raised organically.
Coles Marian
Marian Coles was born in Sundance, Wyoming, where she loved roaming around the scenic hills. She is the youngest in her family of three brothers and three sisters. Her father ran the local paper, which became a family-run business. Marian and her siblings took on various tasks in running the paper. Marian started off as the folder of the papers but eventually became a typesetter as a teenager.
When her father bought a newspaper business in Oregon, the whole family uprooted their life to begin anew as Marian was entering the 10th grade. The move would be fortuitous as Marian would meet her future husband, Gordon, shortly after moving. Though he was originally interested in her older sister, Marian would eventually catch his eye.
With the war in full swing, Gordon joined the United States Marine Corps and then the Army Air Corps, and
Marian joined him as they moved from base to base. They traveled to North Carolina, Maryland, Kansas, and eventually Germany. By this point in their lives, they had their first son who graduated high school while they were stationed in Germany.
Her most memorable experiences were flying in a small airplane as a teenager, living in Germany, skiing the Swiss Alps, and traveling all over Europe and the United States.
She has eight grandchildren and 17 greatgrandchildren.
No matter her age, Marian still enjoys hiking and roaming through nature. Even though she never obtained a pilot’s license, Marian loves the sensation of flying and traveling the country as the explorer that she was as a child.
Devlin Helen
Helen was born and raised in Wisconsin. She came to California during World War II. She and her sister, Marlene, helped in the war effort by transporting soldiers via bus from San Francisco’s Treasure Island and other regional bases.
Helen and her husband remember being in California at war’s end. They lived in Marin County until moving to the Redding area and eventually settled in Solano County in 2014 where she helped to organize the Golden Gate Sky Club, with their home base located at Lake Berryessa.
Helen was a career woman who worked over 35 years for Pac Bell where she was a supervisor/trainer for business reps in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Although she had no children of her own, she had several nieces and nephews she loved. Her family in Solano County includes her niece, Colleen, greatnephew, Jason, great-niece Tiffany, as well as her children, Syndey and Sean.
Helen enjoys playing bingo at Cornerstone Assisted Living Facility.
Secret to longevity: to take each day as it comes.
Dexter Oakley
Oakley, much like his parents, and his grandmother before him, was born in San Francisco, California. In his senior year of high school, the attack on Pearl Harbor had his father transferred to Washington, D.C., bringing the family along. After high school, Oakley attempted to enlist in the United States Air Force as an aviation cadet but was denied due to being enrolled in college and was told to finish his classes then try again. He later dropped out of college and was accepted.
While in training in radar classes, Oakley was given a two-week furlough, where he went to visit his fiancé back in Washington, D.C. and promptly married her.
Oakley’s military career saw him focus on communications through photography such as aerial photos of plane crashes, 16mm photoshoots, photo ids while also exploring other means of communications that would serve him well after the war. Once discharged, Oakley moved back to Washington, D.C., to be with his
wife where he took a job installing and repairing auto radios, then installing organs, televisions, and glass displays.
With a small loan from his grandmother, Oakley was able to put a downpayment on a building to start a business, which eventually grew to warrant expanding the building with a second floor. He managed his business until the cable company came into the area and rather than compete, Oakley opted to sell the business and retired at the age of 60 to enjoy a peaceful life.
After retirement, Oakley became a volunteer firefighter and was a teacher at the local Sunday school service, as he wanted to continue to help people anyway he could.
During the wedding to his second wife, Catherine, they had intended to hold a small event but all the people that Oakley had impacted in his life wanted to share in his celebration and the venue was packed.
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Diaz Adelina
Adelina was born in the Philippines, where she helped to share her knowledge with the younger generation as a grade school teacher.
While boarding a flight to Kona, Hawaii, for a family reunion to celebrate her 100th birthday, a flight attendant learned that it was Adelina’s milestone. Over the intercom, the flight staff led everyone on board in singing happy birthday. When she stepped off the plane, Adelina was serenaded by five Hawaiians with their
ukeleles. This event was impactful for not only Adelina, but for her family to help honor her as she loved to sing.
Adelina has always had a very positive attitude about life and never complained, nor did she get angry easily; this is because she has always been grateful in life and works to see the good in people and in any situation. Despite her dementia having progressed, she still maintains her positive outlook on life.
Dohs Charles
Charles was born in Westwood, California.
During World War II, Charles was a member of the United States Navy, stationed on the USS South Dakota as an aviation machinist and he traveled to places such as Guadalcanal, the Santa Cruz Islands, and Iwo Jima.
After the war, Charles used the money he had earned to start a tire shop in Martinez and then started a roof truss shop in Grass Valley, and a lumber company in Yuba City.
As a machinist in the Navy, Charles found he liked to make things using his hands. Now that he's retired, he continues to build but on a much smaller scale with model airplanes and doll houses while also enjoying cross stitching and woodworking.
Charles says that his most memorable experience was getting to fly a twin engine airplane and meeting the love of his life, Teresa.
His secret to longevity is staying busy as much as possible.
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Gonge John F.
Lt. Gen. John F. Gonge was born in Ansley, Nebraska. He graduated from Ansley High School in 1938 and became an aviation cadet at the U.S. Army Air Corps Flying School at Lubbock Army Airfield, Texas. He received his pilot wings and a commission as a second lieutenant in December 1943.
During World War II, Gonge flew the “hump” in the China-Burma-India campaigns with the Army Air Corps Air Transport Command. In September 1946, he was assigned to the 47th Bombardment Group at Lake Charles Army Airfield, Louisiana, and transferred with the 47th Group to Biggs Field, Texas.
In May 1953, Gonge was assigned to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii as special projects officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Pacific Division. He later became administrative assistant to the commander. Other assignments included Parks Air Force Base in California and Clark Air Base in The Philippines.
In July 1969, Gonge returned to Travis Air Force Base as vice commander of the 60th Military Airlift Wing. He also served at other Air Force bases before being assigned as Commander of the 22nd Air Force (MAC) at Travis Air Force Base from August 1972 to August 1975 and became Vice Commander of the Military Airlift.
General Gonge is a recipient of the Order of the Sword, he was the tenth man to ever receive that honor from the non-commissioned officer corps.
Gonge has more than 13,000 flying hours. His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Citation Emblem.
Shortly after he retired in 1977, at age 56, he became the general manager at Travis Federal Credit Union, which is now Travis Credit Union. Gonge served as the credit union’s general manager and president until 1994.
Graves Regina T.
Born Regina Kowalkowski, she was raised in San Francisco as the second oldest of six children; two brothers and three sisters. Regina was present at the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 and walked across before traffic started. She attended the San Francisco World's Fair on Treasure Island in 1939 and performed a Polish dance at the 1940 exposition.
She lived in San Francisco until the age of 16. In the summer of 1941, her father moved the family to Vallejo to work at the shipyard on Mare Island. Taking advice from her father to keep a journal, she has been journaling nearly every day for 83 years (since 1942). She still has all of these journals.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Vallejo High School assembled all the students into the auditorium to listen to Franklin Roosevelt's speech, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This spurred a patriot spirit amongst her peers and herself. She recalls the changes they faced during wartime. Her class was the only year that didn’t have a hardcover yearbook. There was rationing on gas, meat, sugar and rubber (no elastic on clothing). Upon finishing high school, she skipped college to work as a secretary on Mare Island during World War II. Regina worked with classified documents for the Navy intelligence department.
After World War II, she worked for the labor commissioner employment office and Caltrans at the
Carquinez Bridge before retiring at the age of 54 1/2 in 1979 as a stenographer.
Regina’s husband, Barney, was a well-known local big band leader. Regina was at a roller-skating rink with friends when they all noticed him there. After some exchange Barney took her home and they briefly dated. However, they separated when Barney was drafted for the war effort. They later reunited at a show Barney was playing in Vallejo. The pair married on May 30, 1948, and spent their honeymoon camping in Yosemite. The two enjoyed road trips across the United States to Key West, Florida, boating in the San Francisco Bay Delta and camping across California. Regina has three children, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She has lived in the Vallejo Bay Terrace neighborhood for over 70 years.
Regina’s hobbies include gardening and sewing. She recalls the Port Chicago explosion and all the broken windows in downtown Vallejo. Her husband was a working jazz musician, and she assisted him in his music jobs by typing out the music programs. At the age of 99 she took her photo in front of the 99 Cent store at the Vallejo Plaza Shopping Center before the store closed.
Regina claims her secret to longevity is, “It’s no secret, just luck. Sometimes I wonder if it is lucky” (she chuckles) But a little bit of everything but not in excess.
Helmich Shirley
Shirley Helmich was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.
Between her first husband who was in the Navy, and her career at the expanding telecommunications company, Pac Bell, Shirley was always on the move across the country; moving from Chicago to Minnesota, Los Angeles, Downey, Landers, and eventually settling in Vacaville to be with her son.
Shirley worked in the traffic division for AT&T and saw the communications industry change throughout her time with the company as computers became a standard application.
Later in life, Shirley was intrigued by a golf course that was by her house and decided to see what the sport that her late husband had been interested in so many years ago was all about. After some lessons, she was hooked and can often be found on the course taking lessons, trying to improve her stroke, or just enjoying time with her expanding group of friends. A part of her interest in golf comes from the feeling that the sport is a shared hobby between herself and her late husband.
A part of the interest is she feels it is time spent with her late husband, finally enjoying a shared hobby together.
Secret to longevity: I like my candy bars, my ice cream. The Lord has been good to me.
Hendricks Luther
Born on April 3, 1925, in Five Points, Denver, Colorado, and raised in Paris, Texas, alongside 13 siblings, Luther Hendricks was shaped by a strong foundation of perseverance, family, and faith. As a child, he enjoyed the simple joys of fishing and playing sports. In 1937, he moved to Los Angeles, and by 1942, driven by a deep desire to serve his country, he relocated to Vallejo, California.
After being denied enlistment into the United States Marine Corps due to the color of his skin, Luther refused to let prejudice define his path. He found work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and remained steadfast in his determination. His persistence paid off when he successfully enlisted in the Marine Corps out of San Francisco—becoming one of the first African American Marines.
Luther proudly served in the historic 51st and 52nd Defense Battalions during World War II—units trained at the segregated Montford Point near Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. In the face of adversity and inequality, he served with courage, discipline, and pride. These battalions played a crucial role in defending key Allied positions in the Pacific and helped lay the foundation for the eventual desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces.
In recognition of his extraordinary service to our nation, Luther Hendricks was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2012, one of the highest civilian honors
bestowed by the United States Congress. He was also honored for his service in multiple Philippine operations and received the Liberation of the Philippines medal.
After the war, Luther returned home and built a meaningful career—first as an electrician’s assistant, then as a painter and mechanic, eventually retiring from Kirsch after 15 years of dedicated work. Through it all, he remained a devoted father and family man, guided by the values he carried from the Corps.
Together with his first wife, Norma Hendricks, Luther raised four children: Norman, Dee’Ann, Sharon, and Yvonne. His son, Norman Hendricks, proudly served as a paratrooper during the Vietnam War, continuing the family's legacy of military service. Luther's quiet strength and steadfast integrity held his family close, and today, his legacy lives on in the lives of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
When asked about the secret to his longevity, Luther offers a simple yet profound truth:
“Live a peaceful life, be kind to others, and respect others as you would like to be treated.”
Today, Luther lives in Vallejo with his wife, Shirley Hendricks, in the quiet peace he has long earned. We honor Luther for a life defined by service, dignity, and wisdom—a life that helped change the course of history and continues to inspire generations to come.
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Jacks Helen
Raised in Vallejo, she and her husband joined the World War II war effort on Mare Island; she ordered submarine parts, and he piloted them! They worked at Mare Island for 35 years, retiring in 1976 and moved to Oroville where they lived for 29 years. Helen volunteered at the local hospital there. The Jackses spent time as well in Germany, where Helen collected Hummel figurines.
The Jackses started a family, with four sons, two granddaughters.
After her husband passed away, Helen moved to Benicia where her family lived nearby. She has lived in the Rancho Benicia mobile home for five years.
“I like to take advantage of the activities there, like bingo,” Helen says. “I like being crafty.”
Joe Pearl
Pearl Joe was born in Fargo, North Dakota, but her life was split between her time in the U.S. and China, where her family came from.
Pearl lived in North Dakota until she was 10 years old, but when her father was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to move the family to China. This would ensure that Pearl’s mother had the support of family members there. Pearl would live in a rural village in the Guangdong Province of China until the age of 15, at which time she returned to the United States. While in China, she remembers having forgotten how to speak English, something she took to remembering.
What brought Pearl back to the U.S. was an arranged marriage with a family friend who lived in Mississippi. This was in 1939 at the age of 16. Her new home was in a
small town, and despite being the only Chinese person, she felt a sense of community, the perfect place to raise her five children.
Her husband’s family owned a small grocery store, where they lived, and after he was drafted, Pearl took to running the store. They made the tough decision to prioritize their children and sold their grocery store and moved to Los Angles where they could get a better education.
One of her greatest memories were road trips, whether it was cross-country or a few blocks to amusement parks. It was the time she spent with her family that was important to her, remarking that life is shaped by your thoughts and to be kind, generous, and thankful.
Kovisto Jacoba
The daughter of Spanish immigrants, Jacoba Lopez Kovisto was born and raised in Vacaville alongside her brother, Joe, and sister, Mary.
In the eighth grade, she was a drummer in the Drum and Bugle Corps and the highlight of her time with the corps was marching on Market Street in San Francisco for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition and then spending time on Treasure Island at the World’s Fair. Jacoba graduated from Vacaville Union High School in 1943 where she enjoyed most sports and was in the Olympia Honor Society for girl athletes. Jacoba worked on the school newspaper, served on the student council, and was a cheerleader. Her favorite teacher was Miss Chamberlain who taught business classes.
Her favorite activities were drawing, bike riding, and reading. She recalls practicing the jitterbug with friends on Lovers Lane when it was still orchards, with car headlights on, and radios turned up. She continued to take many classes in her adulthood, ranging from business to art.
While in high school, a teacher recommended her to the Bank of America manager for work after school. After graduation she worked in various branches, but only part-time after she had her sons: Matthew and Joel. Jacoba continued to work for the bank before retiring in 1990. Following her retirement from banking, she would go on to work at the Tux-N-Tailor Bridal Shop in Vacaville for nine years.
Jacoba met Lee Kovisto in 1955, and they married in 1956. Together, they enjoyed dancing, skiing, and golfing. After Lee’s graduation from San Francisco State, he accepted a job in Antioch so they moved there and when he retired, they moved to Vacaville to be closer to her mother. Her favorite trip was a two-week tour of Spain when she was able to meet some family members.
For one hundred years, her father’s barber shop continued in downtown Vacaville. Jacoba’s parents came from Spain but met in Vacaville. Her mother, Mary Garcia, was five when her family left Spain for Hawaii before moving to Solano County because of the farmland. Jacoba’s father, “Pepe” Joe Ferris Lopez, came through Ellis Island when he was 16 and already had three siblings in Vacaville.
Jacoba was always active in churches, schools, and community affairs. Beta Sigma Phi (an international women’s sorority) has been an important part of her life, and she is in the Laureate Lambda Delta chapter. She helped raise funds for the Jester sculpture at the Vacaville Theatre of Performing Arts and with the Xi Tau Delta chapter, she raised funds for the statue of the boy and girl, back-to-back, reading books at the Vacaville Library on Ulatis Drive. Her favorite memory was spending time with her grandmother.
Jacoba claims her secret to longevity is that she has good genes and stays active. Her sons suspect it is her exceptional ability to cultivate a community of friends and family throughout her life.
Love Ruth Mae Harris
Ruth is the daughter of Charles and Carrie Harris and one of eight children. She was born in Lamont, Florida and raised in Palmetto, Florida.
Her favorite childhood memories include being with her family and going to the pond to swim.
She attended Lincoln Memorial High School until the 11th grade and furthered her education at the Vallejo Adult School. Ruth liked her history and English classes.
Once relocated to Vallejo, she worked at Basic Vegetable, the onion factory in Vacaville, and did domestic work in the area while attending school to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. She was hired in 1980 at Napa State Hospital and retired in 1990.
Ruth was married to Johnnie B. Love for 36 years until his passing in 1980. She is the mother of four daughters, two sons and grandmother of 37 grandchildren. She holds many titles such as Granny, Grandma, and GG.
Ruth gave her life to Jesus Christ at the age of 11 years old. She became a member of Second Baptist Church in 1946 and later joined Friendship Missionary Baptist
Church in 1951, where she remains a member today. She taught Sunday School and served on the Senior Usher Board for more than 70 years. Her favorite Bible verse is Psalm 27 which is an exuberant declaration of faith.
Ruth’s Masonic affiliation is with the Vallejo Eastern Star working with the Golden State Youth Chapters. In addition, she co-founded Solano County’s first Black American Girl Scout Troop in 1964 with other moms in the Vallejo community which will never be forgotten.
Traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast to visit family and friends was something Ruth enjoyed. She likes to work in her garden and has a green thumb like no other. Mother Love is truly a warrior contributing to our community and her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Ruth’s secret to longevity is being a Christian, having faith, love and patience, as well as giving to others, family support and love.
Lyons Eugene
Eugene served in World War II before transferring to Travis Air Force Base and retired with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. After retirement, Eugene transitioned to working for the United States Post Office as a Window Clerk for another 16 years before officially stepping back and retiring and enjoying some time for himself.
In between serving his country, Eugene would travel and go to musicals and musical events. Music has remained an important part of Eugene's life to this day, still listening and singing along to musical icons such as Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Lou Rawls, Diana Krall. He enjoys many kinds of music including gospel, crooners, big band,
show tunes, classical, R&B and more. When he's not crooning to the people around him, Eugene is watching TV with family, remembering days gone by, laughing with family and friends, looking at the hills in Vacaville, and getting a haircut at TAFB barbershop.
Two memories are as vivid as ever, one being when his ship, the SS Cape San Juan was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on November 11, 1943, and the other is the day he married his wife, Laura Grace Green, on July 15, 1957.
His secret to longevity is simply: Prayer.
Mangabat Virginia
Virginia Mangabat was born in Ramos, Tarlac, Philippines.
Her husband, Conrado, began working at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard while Virginia and their daughter stayed in the Philippines until they both immigrated to reunite their family. She found work as a seamstress in Napa until the age of 70 when she retired, prioritizing her family by helping to raise her grandchildren in Vallejo.
Aside from her family, Virginia loves to tend to her garden, planting different flowers such as orchids, roses, and dahlias as well as going on cruises and traveling to Singapore.
Secret to longevity: Praying, gardening, and being happy.
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Manzo Rosa Cortés
Rosa was born in El Varal, Michoacán, México, and is the oldest, and last living, of six siblings. She grew up in a very small, humble ranch and dedicated most of her life to farming and tending to the family’s crops and animals.
Rosa was a Midwife while she lived on the ranch in El Varal, México, which has a population of no more than 300 residents. Rural life was very simple and traditionalwhere drinking water was carried on and brought by donkeys and cooking was done over wood fires. In her hometown she helped to deliver most of the babies born there as a Midwife. Rosa had 18 children with her husband Serapio Cortés, who was also featured in this project twice a few years ago before he passed at age 101. Most of her busy life was spent tending to her children and home.
Rosa met her late husband Serapio Cortés, when she was only 14 and he was 19. Her mom, being suspicious of Serapio’s intentions, would not allow her to see or speak with him so Rosa talks about how he would always walk by her house singing a song titled “Rosita de Olivo,”
which because of the title she instantly knew it was for her. Serapio would also leave hidden love letters for her to find and soon after she would fall in love with him.
Serapio’s work brought them to different areas in Northern California and he and Rosa eventually ended up in Fairfield. For years they would travel back and forth from Fairfield to Mexico and Rosa has now been permanently in Fairfield for the last 10 years. Rosa and Serapio had 18 children, 10 of whom are still living today. She has 50 grandkids, close to 100 great-grandkids and a few dozen great-great-grandkids and even a few greatgreat-great grandkids. She likes living here because all her children live here and she enjoys having them close by.
Her secret to longevity is family. Having such a large family has always kept Rosa thriving. Another huge part of Rosa’s life is her Catholic faith and she still, to this day, will say the Rosary prayer several times a day.
Matthews Lanelle “Corky”
Lanelle was born in Thurber, Texas before moving to Solano County for the first time in 1945 when husband Jerry was transferred to the Army-Air Base for two years. They later returned in 1958 when the US Air Force transferred them back to the renamed Travis Air Force Base. This would prove to be their last relocation, as they remained in Vacaville following his retirement from active duty. He entered the Civil Service at TAFB and worked well into the 1980’s. Through the decades they enjoyed watching Vacaville grow around the house they purchased brand new in 1966, the same home she continues to live at to this day, independently!
In earlier years, Lanelle greatly enjoyed traveling the globe on numerous adventures with members of her travel club. She was also very fond of group travel to various casinos in western Nevada as she regularly had amazing luck at the slot machines! She has remained an active member of The Saturday Club of Vacaville for over 50 years and was bestowed the distinguished title of “Honorary Member” for her service.
While she enjoyed various jobs prior to marriage, her role as wife of an US Air Force Officer and mother of two very energetic boys, Donald and Jerry "Ronald", kept her incredibly fulfilled and active. Later in life,
she helped welcome three grandsons and seven greatgrandkids to the family.
Lanelle still talks often of being selected to be highlighted as the family of a military member engaged in the Berlin Airlift, with a reporter following her daily activities and interviewing her about being the wife of an Air Force pilot flying supplies into Berlin for this historic mission as well as being present at the Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, and witnessing firsthand the trial of Japan’s Prime Minister Hideki Tojo for war crimes related to World War II.
With her children now raising their own families, Lanelle enjoys reading various newspapers and periodicals; watching TV programs on a variety of topics and interests; and reminiscing as she shares stories of her life and travels with her grandsons, all with incredible recall of names, dates and other details from many decades past!
She says her secret to longevity is she believes she was raised on good, solid food and vegetables which formed her healthy body. As she’s aged, she believes simply having good genes may be the best thing she can attribute to her continued health, energy and independence!
Solano
Melvin Helen Louise
Helen, along with her twin brother Robert, were born in Sacramento, California. Her dad worked for Mr. Buck, and they had a home on Buck Ave in Vacaville.
Helen has two daughters, Maggie and Alice, three grandchildren, six great-grandkids, four nieces, and two nephews.
After meeting her husband, Bob, Helen would help him run the business, but she was always trying new professions throughout her lifetime. She was involved in 4-H and the Girl Scouts of America, taught sewing whenever she had a chance, worked at the Creamery
with Rudy Werner, as her boss, at the Nut Tree in Vacaville, and worked at Mare Island doing paperwork.
"Getting things done" has always been a hobby of Helen's. This includes activities such as boating, collecting driftwood, sewing, cooking, and gardening.
No matter her age, Helen remains a child at heart, remembering diving off the high dive at the swimming hole, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, and getting married in 1942 and having Mr. Fruhling perform the service.
Moore Arlene
Arlene Moore was born in Seattle, Washington in 1925.
She began her education when her family moved to California when she was seven years old. Mrs. Hennley, her second-grade teacher, was her favorite. She still recalls her beautiful brown and tan suit. The first thing they learned was penmanship for an hour every day. Ink wells sat in their desks along with long brown stick with metal points so they could write.
Growing up her mother had many fruit trees which they would enjoy for dessert and vegetables that they canned for the winter. She would play with her younger sister who was also her best friend. When it snowed, they loved going down a hill behind their house on their sled. Her favorite memory here was seeing the great big Santa Claus at Christmas time.
Arlene was 16 when World War II started, and during this time she trained in first aid and entertained as a Junior Hostess. Because of rationing and the war, Arlene learned to drive when she was 30 years old. She kept her driver’s license updated and drove until she was 98 years old, with it expiring when she turned 100 this past June.
Arlene met her husband, Jim, three years after graduating from high school. They lived in the same town and met on a blind date put on by their best friends. Their first date was at Pescadero Park near the ocean, and they married almost a year after they met.
Jim would play golf and she played bridge. Arlene was an Executive Secretary and worked in a laboratory that made tubes needed for World War II. This work was very secret, having to be let into the buildings with a code. Early in her career she worked for the telephone company and went on to work for the school district where she ran the Instructional Materials Center. She retired when she was 55 years old from El Camino High School in San Francisco. She went to work for Dillingham Construction and learned to use a computer for the first time in her 60’s. After about eight years, she retired permanently at the age of 67.
When service stations became self-serve gas stations, Arlene was reluctant to learn. She told her husband that when he learned to clean toilets, she would learn to pump gas… he filled her car with gas for as long as he could walk. Even in the later years of his life, Jim would ask Arlene to drive him to the gas station just so he could fill the tank for her.
Arlene enjoys travelling with her family and visiting Hawaii often. She first visited Hawaii on her 20th anniversary and became very fond of the islands. Her grandmother taught her to play bridge when she was 10 years old. She currently plays bridge with her friends every week and has been doing so for decades.
The most important thing in Arlene’s life is her family and her secret to longevity is building a happy, peaceful life and drinking a glass of wine a day.
Nicholas Tillie
Tillie Nicholas was born and raised in Madera, California. Being one of 12 children, she has often said she didn’t need to go out and make friends, she had her siblings. Not to mention that her aunt lived right next door and there were another nine children there. Her life there was very rural and, in her youth, she picked fruit.
She earned her high school credits early and left Madera for Vallejo where she joined a sister and cousin. She returned to Madera to walk the line and receive her diploma.
Tillie found her first employment on Mare Island as a welder. Because of her small size, they had her working in the belly of the subs as a welder. She looked into enlisting with the Woman’s Army Corps but because she wasn’t 21 years old, yet she had to make another trip back to Madera to ger her father’s written permission to join. She returned to Vallejo and enlisted with the US Army on April 15, 1945. While in the Army, she was a nurse’s aide working in an Army hospital. Tillie was honorably discharged on September 19, 1946.
Tillie later got her license for cosmetology, working on women’s hair. Her final employment was with Mare Island Naval Shipyard, working in the supply department before retiring in 1984.
Tillie met her husband, John Nicholas, while working at Mare Island and would eventually give birth to two daughters, Shirley Greeley and Cindy Fuller. Who would give her three grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren. Her family remains close at heart. It’s become very important to them to spend as many holidays and birthdays together as they can.
Prior to and post-retirement, Tillie continued to remain active in numerous social clubs such as the Women of the Moose, Native Daughters, Eastern Star and the Red Hatters, to name a few. She was also an avid golfer and bowler for 20 plus years. Today, at 101, she enjoys playing dominoes with her family and working the Word Find books…daily.
Growing up in a family of 21 kids, basically, she was always having to stand firm, hold her position, fight and believe in herself. This type of upbringing has made her a very strong and independent woman which we believe has contributed to her longevity, not to mention her two evening cocktails. She’s one tough cookie, as they say.
Nunez Doña Cecilia
Doña Cecy, as her friends and family would call her, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, but her family moved to Richmond, California when she was just a year old.
Helping her mother and sister cook the family dinners is one of her earliest memories as family was always an important part of Doña’s life. She often reminisces of the days when she and her sister, Lupe, would walk and shop in Union Square in San Francisco in the 1940’s.
Doña got a job at the State Farm Insurance company in her twenties in the City of Berkeley, where she remained for 35 years, only retiring to help take care of her mother.
Despite not marrying or having children, she considers herself to have a large extended family with the people she’s met in her life, going out for breakfast and lunch with her family of friends; still helping her newfound family to cook when she can.
Secret to longevity: She believes she has lived a long life because she never worked physically strenuous jobs and was able to retire at 55. She believes that never marrying and not having children has contributed to her longevity.
Plunkett Virginia “Ruth”
Virginia was born in Auburn, California, before her family moved to Lincoln, California, where she spent her childhood and early adult years.
After meeting her future husband, James B. Plunkett, the two were married on September 22, 1946, and welcomed three sons shortly after. Family has remained
an important aspect of Virginia’s life as she has 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren that she has had the pleasure of watching grow up.
In her free time, Virginia enjoys being involved with church, tending to her garden, and spending time baking for her friends and family.
Podojil Evelyn
Evelyn was born in South Haven, Michigan. Her mother died two weeks after Evelyn was born. Her father who was 19 years of age, could not raise her on his own so she was adopted and raised by her grandfather.
She learned to cook at an early age. She loved to read and would climb up in a tree and read until her dad called her down. She still enjoys reading and sometimes will read for a couple of hours at a time.
Evelyn graduated high school in 1942. When World War II started, she worked making generators for the tanks used in the war effort. During war time, if you had a job and quit, you were blacklisted from any other jobs during the war. Evelyn didn't know this and being young, she quit her job and could not work again until after the war.
She met her future husband, Jim Podojil, at a dance hall called 'McDonalds' where she went every Friday night. He was sitting in a chair with a pretty girl on each knee, in his Army uniform. As she walked by, he invited her to join the other two ladies. Evelyn said, "I don't share." Those were the words that apparently became Jim’s challenge to meet this beautiful girl with high values. They became engaged and he was shipped over to Germany, leaving Evelyn with the blessing of a little girl. Jim was only in the war for about six weeks when the tank he and three other men were in got blown up by enemy forces. Jim pulled the only other living, but
wounded, soldier from the tank and was hospitalized for the shrapnel in his legs and fingers. Once home, Evelyn and Jim would go on to have three more children. They eventually moved family to California in 1958 after being told how sunny the weather was, and jobs were abundant. The day they got there, Evelyn said it was raining and rained for a week. She was not impressed.
After meeting and marrying Jim, Evelyn never worked again until after his death in 2000. Within three months of his passing, she began working a part time job at a five and dime store a short walk from her house. She was 76 years old at that time and enjoyed it immensely. She was a work horse though and other employees would tell her to slow down as it was making them look bad.
Up until 2023, Evelyn lived on her own in Rocklin. Her daughter Wanda says "I knew it was time to have her move here to Vacaville with me and it has been a decision we are both very happy with. I enjoy my mother's quick wit, her sense of humor and the very sweet attitude she always seems to have no matter what may be going on in her life. A dear pastor friend in Rocklin, himself in his 90s, calls her ‘smiley.’
One time when a lady asked Evelyn how she has lived so long, with her quick wit and a twinkle in her eyes, she replied, “I just keep getting up."
Stressenger Millie
Millie grew up on a farm in Tilden, Nebraska, the oldest girl in a family of six children - four sisters and one brother. From a young age, she preferred helping inside the house, caring for her little sisters, rather than doing farm chores. Still, everyone pitched in on the farm, and she did her part when needed.
Weather was always a concern for farming families. During tornadoes, Millie and her sisters would shelter in the root cellar, waiting anxiously until their father and brother finished tending to the livestock and opened the cellar door- a sign that all was well.
Right out of high school, Millie began teaching at a small one-room schoolhouse serving grades K–8. She loved teaching and cherished those years. After a couple of years, she and a girlfriend decided to set out on a new adventure. They flipped a coin to choose between New York and Los Angeles - it landed on tails, so off they went from rural Nebraska to Los Angeles. At the time, it was quite courageous for two young women to strike out on their own like that.
Los Angeles brought fun, friendship, and eventually love. There, Millie met her future husband, Roy. Together, they moved to Mountain View and then settled in Palo Alto, where they spent 25 years raising their family. Roy’s job later took them to Richmond, and they moved to Pinole. Sadly, Roy passed away not long after.
Millie found strength and purpose in returning to the workforce, taking a position with the state at an employment agency, where she worked for seven years. Later, she moved to Placerville, a place she enjoyed deeply. She met a new husband, Jim.
As the years went by, she chose to move closer to family in Fairfield, where she now lives at Ivy Park at Rockville Assisted Living.
Throughout her life, Millie has embraced service to others, healthy eating, her faith and staying active — choices that have surely contributed to her remarkable longevity.
Tate Elizabeth
Elizabeth Fisher Tate was born in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Immediately after her birth, her family moved to New Orleans, living in the Ninth Ward, in the easternmost part of the city.
She attended public schools there, graduating from McDonogh 35 High School, where the principal was Lucien Alexis, a Harvard graduate. He could not find a job with his Ivy League degree, so he shared his scholarship, discipline and scientific theories with his students. Tate graduated in 1940 at age 17, when war was approaching and the first peacetime military draft in U.S. history was approved.
With her father’s blessing, Tate responded to a National Youth Administration newspaper ad. The NYA was part of the Works Progress Administration, one of Roosevelt’s New Deal agencies created in the 1930s during the Great Depression. It included a Division of Negro Affairs headed by Mary McLeod Bethune, who later founded Bethune-Cookman College in Florida and the National Council of Negro Women. Bethune also befriended first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
As part of the NYA, Tate traveled to Washington State, where she learned to operate a lathe. Later, with valuable skill on her resume, she moved to Richmond, where her oldest sister lived, but didn’t like the East Bay town. She moved to San Francisco, where she landed a goodpaying job making bolts for the war effort at the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard.
After the war, she worked for more than two decades at J.C. Penney, the first Black woman in management at the Daly City store, retiring at age 60.
Tate married Webster Rosboro and together they raised Rella and Webster Jr., but the elder Rosboro died in December 1970. Tate remarried in 1975 to James Tate, a retired airman, and settled in Solano County. He died in July 2020 but not before receiving recognition from Rep. John Garamendi for his many years of military service.
Her secret to longevity is “I’m a person who thinks positively. I love everybody. I don’t have time for picking and choosing stuff. I have God in my life.”
Tavenier Maria
Maria Tavenier was born to Gijsbertus and Grietje van Halm in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She lived on the outskirts of Amsterdam, and her primary mode of travel was on a bicycle. She was on a rowing team in her early teens, and although she is not fond of water, she did enjoy canoes and sail boating while she lived in Holland. Her life took a turn when Amsterdam was occupied by German forces in May of 1940. Her father didn’t come home one day in early June. She and her mother were informed that the Germans came to his workplace and arrested him as a political prisoner. Although they would exchange letters, she would not see him again until June of 1944 when he showed up one afternoon unannounced.
After the war she met her husband, Jan Tavenier, where they both worked at the Dutch Aviation Laboratory. They married in September of 1950 and had two children while living upstairs in a converted attic at her parent’s row house. Jan received a job offer from Lockheed
Corporation at their offices in Burbank, California. So, with two small children they relocated to Southern California and welcomed a third child. A few years later they moved to the South Bay where Lockheed opened a facility adjacent to Moffett Field. She lived there since about 1960 and had her fourth child. She moved to San Ramon to live close to her only daughter. From there she moved to Rockville Terrace in Fairfield where her youngest son lives.
Maria credits her longevity to healthy eating, always cooking a meal at home for dinner where the family always ate together. Many of the vegetables were grown in the backyard vegetable garden. She is not afraid of the saltshaker either! She was always active with hobbies like sewing, crocheting, knitting, and needlepointing. She volunteered to work with children with physical disabilities doing physical therapy.
Thomas Elizabeth
Raised on a farm in Eudora, Arkansas, Elizabeth was an only child. She, along with her family moved, as did many African Americans from the South to the Midwest to find work and better opportunities for their families after the war. While living in the Midwest, her family was able to find work in the car manufacturing industry.
She began her schooling in Eudora but finished her high school education by attending adult school after moving to California. After completing this academic pursuit, Elizabeth attended and graduated from Beauty College in Richmond, California. She practiced her craft until 2005.
Upon her retirement, Elizabeth purchased a home in American Canyon and lived there on her own until the age of 98. Her daughter, Curtysteen, believes that one of the contributors to her mother’s longevity was the change in her diet which occurred when she became a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church more than 60 years ago.
Solano
Townsend Gloria
Gloria Townsend was born in Worcester, Massachusetts but the whole family moved to California when she was 17 years old. In 1976, Gloria and her husband bought a hamburger stand and gas station in Fairfield, California, on the corner of Travis and Holiday Lane (where Raley’s is now located). When they moved to the area, they also bought 20 acres on Twin Sisters. Sometime after, the Raley’s Corporation bought them out and they invested in a liquor store in Vacaville, California, on the corner of Peabody and Marshall Road. Later they bought a second liquor store in Fairfield. While owning multiple businesses with her husband, Gloria also worked as a Realtor and Broker. Eventually, she decided to retire at 75-years-old and sold her businesses to her nephew.
Gloria's parents were Italian immigrants who had 13 children - Gloria was number nine. She was married to her late husband, Gene, and had four children: Linda, Kenneth, Donna and Michael. Gloria now enjoys
spending time with her seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
When she was young, she and her siblings would swim at Lake Quinsigamond, Massachusetts.
As a young adult, she worked at a studio in Hollywood and was on a first name basis with several actors and directors in the 1940’s. As a matter of fact, Marlon Brando tried to sweep her off her feet, but she kept work strictly business.
Gloria keeps herself busy by playing Bingo, watching TV, especially Wild at Heart or Star Trek, spending time with family, reading and sometimes going to the casino as well as gardening, knitting and crocheting.
Her secret to longevity is keeping busy and being happy and relaxed with everything you do.
Velky Mildred Patricia
Mildred Velky was born in Seattle, Washington. Family has always been an important part of Mildred's life, as she has cherished her two children, James and Summer, as well as her five grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Having worked as a waitress, Mildred knows how to take care of the people around her, so it was only natural that in her 60’s, Mildred uprooted her life to move to Solano County to be with her aunt and uncle.
Mildred enjoyed staying active through swimming but has slowed down to now enjoying reading and watching TV.
She attributes the secret to her longevity to having good genes as her mother lived into her 90’s and good habits such as healthy eating and not smoking.
Solano
Vidales Guadalupe
Guadalupe Vidales was born in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Growing up, Guadalupe was surrounded by the creative support of those around her. Her house included a carpentry workshop where she would watch her father work. While in school, her teacher encouraged her to explore the arts, especially clay and stone pottery, an interest that she took home with her.
After graduating from high school, Guadalupe chose to not attend college due to a requirement to serve in the military; instead, she continued her creative passion and opened a clothing store in Mexico, a choice that she has said she would repeat without question as she considered it one of the best decisions of her life.
While looking for clothes to buy for her store, Guadalupe met Senobio, the love of her life and future husband. They were married on October 14, 1954, and eventually had three children: Patricia, David, and Robert.
After her children had grown up, Guadalupe retired from her store and moved to America, becoming a citizen in 1979. Since retirement, she has embraced her novellas and cooking for her children and grandchildren. When she gets a chance, Guadalupe loves to go back to her hometown and reflect back on all that she’s accomplished with her family. She can always be found looking for objects and gifts to give to strangers or to donate to someone in need, as she believes that supporting people can be done just by being involved.
White Margaret E.
Margaret E. White was born in Madera, California. She moved from Murphys to Vacaville in 2021 to live closer to family. She has two sons, two daughters-inlaw, one daughter and son-in-law, three grandsons, one granddaughter, and three great-grandchildren. She has nieces and nephews too. Her eldest son passed away in 2011. Her first husband passed away in 2000. She married again in 2006, and her husband passed away in 2018.
Margaret enjoys reading, writing, gardening, music, and has a new interest in puzzles and games on her iPad.
Margaret was active in the church choir in Murphys. She writes letters and cards to friends and loves to receive them too. She is a veteran, having served in the WAVES, Women Accepted for Volunteer Service, during World War ll. She was a wife and mother and worked as a secretary and teacher’s aide. She graduated from Fresno State and that’s where she met her husband. Margaret always loved to travel and cruise and still enjoys getaway trips in California.
Her secret to longevity is to be happy, try to be healthy, help others and love life.
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Woodson Emma Lee
Born in Louisiana, Emma Lee moved to Vallejo, California, in the early 1960’s with her late husband, Ernest Woodson, to seek better employment and opportunities. Emma Lee would work at Breuner's Furniture Store in Vallejo for 25 years before retiring to spend time with her family.
Among her memories, going on cruises and attending various family reunions across the United States are her fondest.
Emma Lee spends her golden years regularly attending her church as well as eating out, traveling, reading, gardening, solving word searches and watching television.
Her secret to longevity is staying physically and mentally active and having a strong Christian faith.
Young Leona
Leona Young was born Leona Hargis on August 25, 1921, in Indiana, and she said she remains a proud Hoosier. She lived in the state until she was 19, when she eloped with the love of her life, Joe, whom she wed on May 2, 1940. He was a second lieutenant in the Army and became stationed at what was later known as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Joe served in World War II and the Korean War and had several assignments over the course of 22 years, which brought him and Leona all over the world.
Along the way, they had eight children: Ralph, Mary, Dave, Gary, Herbert, Sharon, George and Alice.
One of the most exciting assignments for Leona was when her husband was stationed in Germany.
“We spent three years in Germany,” she said. “I had a daughter born over there.”
In 1964, the Youngs moved to Vallejo, where Joe worked as a teacher at Springstowne Junior High School for 12 years. All the while, Leona remained busy donating her time to various endeavors, including PTA meetings and volunteering for local Boy and Girl Scout troops.
In addition to her eight children, Leona also has 24 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and 13 greatgreat-grandchildren.
Leona credits three things to her longevity. One is the fact that she does not smoke or drink. The second is that she has three daughters nearby who take care of her. Finally, there is her spirituality.
“The secret of living a long life is that I know I have a savior, Jesus Christ,” she said. “He’s with me every minute.”
In Memory of
Emerita Caliz
Maria Mattos Duarte
Calvin Hagler
Elena Hampton
Grace Tsuyako Miyagishima
Learn about the lives of our past Centenarians in commemoration books online. issuu.com/solanocounty
