Archived Obituaries

Passed away in Gilroy. The son of Miguel and Gloria Cruz of Hollister. Visitation: Sunday, June 3rd 12:00 noon until 9:00 P.M. Rosary: 7:00 P.M. at funeral home. Mass: Monday, June 4th at 10:00 A.M. at Sacred Heart Church. Interment: Calvary Cemetery.

Esther Katie Monschke Hughes went to be with her Lord on October 3, 2010, exactly three months after her 100th birthday this summer on July 3, 2010. She along with many family and friends spent a wonderful afternoon celebrating this momentous birthday milestone.

Born in 1927 and raised in Yuba City, CA, Annette was the third of four children of Frank and Cecilia Gilpatric. She grew up on a farm and learned the meaning of hard work. She attended local schools and Yuba College, and then went on to the University of California at San Francisco where she received a BS and RN. It was there that she met Lloyd Smith, who was a student in the UCSF College of Dentistry. They later married, and after graduation, moved to Watsonville, where they raised four children, Gary, Brad, Scott and Jan. They moved to Corralitos for 36 years, and later, to Hollister for 16 years. They recently relocated to Santa Cruz. Annette devoted her life to her family. She was a den mother, YMCA camp nurse, PTA volunteer, room mother, and 4-H leader. She and Lloyd served on the medical staff for the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. She also worked as a RN for 10 years with the Stanford Heart Study and volunteered frequently at the American Red Cross blood donation center in Watsonville. Annette was a strong individual, who taught her children the importance of doing their best, resilience against adversity, the joy of life, and the power of a sense of humor. She was an inspiration and brought joy to those who knew her. She enjoyed the hobbies of golf, cooking, gardening, reading and bridge. She died peacefully on May 6, 2010, at age 82, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband, Lloyd; three children, Gary, Scott and Jan Smith; and four grandsons, Craig, Grant, Max and Nick Smith. It was mom's wish that there be no services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation, 911 Sunset Drive, Hollister, CA 95023 or on-line at http://www.hazelhawkins.com/foundation/PDFs/HHHF_Donation_Form.pdf.

Service was held Tuesday May, 14th, 2013, at 11:00 A.M., at Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church SLO, CA. Babe was buried next to her husband at Old Mission Cemetery in San Luis Obispo.

Longtime resident, Maria De Gonzalez, passed away in Hollister. Services will be held in Penjamo, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Dennie Van Tassel, 79, died in Kirkland, Washington, after a long battle with leukoencephalopathy. Computer scientist, professor, mathematician, author, much loved father, brother, son and companion, Dennie was born in Clear Lake, South Dakota to Rush and Florence Van Tassel. He had two siblings,...

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, October 21, 11:00 AM, at St Julie Billiart Church in San Jose. A reception will follow. Private interment will be at Oak Hill Memorial Park.Mary Kawakami Yokoyama, age 82, of San Jose, entered into eternal rest on September 8, 2016. Mary was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1934, to Kenzo and Margarita (Mungia) Kawakami. She met her husband, Shigeru Yokoyama in San Jose. Their 56-year marriage was a model for all couples. Mary believed in education and hard work. She was the first in her family to go to college, SJSU. She mentored students in Migrant Education across the MHUSD in her long teaching career.  Family was important to Mary. She left the paid workforce to raise her children. Mary instilled her love of reading, often taking them to several libraries in a day. Mary took pride in cooking from scratch, most famous for her apple pie.

Prayer service: May 9, 2017 at 7:00pm at Black Cooper Sander Funeral Home.