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Leonard Priest
Leonard Priest of Morgan Hill died Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005, at home. He was born Jan. 15, 1915, in Suttons Bay, Mich.
Leonard brought his family to Morgan Hill in 1953 where he was a masonry contractor for 22 years before retiring in 1975. He was a member of Kiwanis, SIRS, St. Catherine Church and past master of the Morgan Hill Grange. He will always be remembered as a fierce competitor who loved golf, bowling, horseshoes, bridge and the San Francisco Giants. To know him was to love him.
He will be fondly remembered by his loving wife of 64 years, Jane; son Leonard Jr. (Sue); grandchildren Sharyl Eichhorn, Allan Priest, Jodi Moore, Joshua Priest, Mitchell Priest; 11 great-grandchildren; and sister Rita Kiessel of Suttons Bay, Mich.
He was preceded in death by his son Victor in 1977.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated at noon on Wednesday, March 2, at St. Catherine Church. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to St. Catherine School, 17500 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037.
James “Jim” Wilson
James “Jim” Wilson died with his beloved wife and family by his side Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005, at Santa Teresa Hospital, San Jose. He was 70.
Mr. Wilson was born and raised in Morgan Hill. He attended Machado Elementary School and Live Oak High School. He met the love of his life, Loretta and married her in 1957.
He worked as cement truck driver for many years in San Jose. Upon retirement, he helped operate Flowers by Wilson in Morgan Hill with his wife for many years.
Jim was a Civil War and World War II history buff. He enjoyed ocean fishing and boating but most of all he cherished being with his wife and family. His family is comforted to know that he is home with his Savior and will be reunited with him.
He is the loving husband of 48 years to Loretta Wilson of Morgan Hill; the loving father of Julie Fellows and her husband, Ken, of Morgan Hill, Jill Britton and her husband, Steve, of Gilroy and Jim Wilson and his wife, Christie, of San Martin; grandfather of Nickolas and Kristie Fellows of Morgan Hill, MacKenzie, Colton and Stevie Britton, both of Gilroy and Alissa and Kacie Wilson of San Martin; dear brother of Bob and Anne Wilson of Morgan Hill, Jean and Noland Shipp of Oregon, and the late John and Carol Wilson (Wisconsin), the fun brother-in-law of Anita Solari of San Jose and Linda and Dale Evans of Los Gatos. He also is survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral services will be held at 7pm, Wednesday, March 2, at Habing Family Funeral Home, Gilroy.
Graveside services will be held at 11am, Thursday, March 3, at Mount Hope Memorial Park.
Angel “Lucky” Herrera
Angel was an Army veteran of the Korean War and was a life member of the VFW Post 6359 and the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (RAKKAS-ANS). He retired from the Ironworkers Union Local 377 in 1989.
He was born and raised in Hollister. He then moved to the San Jose area for the remainder of his life.
He is survived by his wife, Teresa Herrera, of San Jose; children Cathy and her husband Calvin Pister of Los Banos, Ben and wife Goretti Herrera of Modesto and Eileen and Shawn Black of San Jose, and Jim Azzato of Yorba Linda; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; siblings John Herrera of San Martin, Inez Valdez of Kingsburg, Patsy Martinez of Ceres, Tony Herrera of Selma and Bill Herrera of Del Ray; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mr. Herrera was preceded in death by brothers, sisters and his daughter Debbie Herrera.
Vigil Service will be held at 6pm Wednesday, Feb. 23, at Habing Family Funeral Home, Gilroy. Military Honors will be at 1:30pm Thursday, Feb. 24, at San Joaquin National Valley Cemetery, Gustine.
Leonard Priest
Leonard Priest of Morgan Hill died at home Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005. He was born Jan. 15, 1915, in Sutton Bay, Mich.
Leonard brought his family to Morgan Hill in 1953 where he was a masonry contractor for 22 years before retiring in 1975.
He was a member of Kiwanis, SIRS, St. Catherine Church andp past master of the Morgan Hill Grange. He will always be remembered as a fierce competitor who loved golf, bowling, horseshoes, bridge and the San Francisco Giants. To know him was to love him.
He will be fondly remembered by his loving wife of 64 years, Jane; son Leonard Jr. (Sue) grandchildren Sharyl Eichhorn, Allan Priest, Jodi Priest, Joshua Priest, Mitchell Priest; 11 great-grandchildren; and sister Rita Kiessel of Suttons Bay, Michigan.
He was preceded in death by his son Victor in 1977. Arrangements are pending. Internment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to St. Catherine School, 17500 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037.
Gary Greg Leach
Gary Greg Leach died at home on Feb. 15, 2005, at the age of 64.
Gary spent most of his childhood on Skyline Boulevard in Woodside where his family moved in 1950 when there weren’t any amenities except open space and tremendous views. Gary and his brother raised steers and milked cows and belonged to the Pescadero 4-H. Gary helped celebrate Los Lomitas Elementary School’s 100th birthday in 2004 and the 50th anniversary of Menlo Atherton High School in 2003.
Gary and his wife, Kay, moved to Morgan Hill in 1967 when Gary worked for the California Division of Forestry at the Morgan Hill station. He retired in 1981. Then he had an opportunity to return to school. He attended Gavilan College majoring in music (his passion was jazz, classical music and opera) and Spanish.
Gary had an abiding love of mother nature and all her wonderful creatures and was a supporter of the Friends of Sea Otters and the Marine Mammal Center. When Gary finally was able to travel to Europe he became an avid traveler and explorer of new places. He especially loved Paris and looked forward to a European trip this year to see his maternal grandmother’s birth city of Bergen, Norway.
Gary felt his greatest contribution with regard to his Parkinson’s disease challenge was to let people know one could still have a bright outlook on this precious life. He wanted to be an example of that. Goodnight Bright Spirit.
Although Gary had a number of health challenges in recent years, his death was not anticipated.
Gary is survived by his wife of 38 years, Kay; brother B. Marshall Leach of Spanish Fort, Utah; nieces and nephews Eric Leach, Peter Leach, Lisa Seaman, Aaron Leach, Rebecca Valladolid, Amy Leach, in addition to Christine Ross, Colleen Ross and Ryan Ross; and brothers-in-law Kelly Ross and Glenn Ross.
Visitation takes place at 10am today, Feb. 19, at Johnson Funeral Home. A memorial service and private internment takes place at 11am Monday, Feb. 21, at Mount Hope Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to the Parkinson’s Institute.
Ruth Slechta
Ruth Slechta of Gilroy died Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005, at home. She was 66.
She worked as a registered nurse in several hospitals prior to moving to Gilroy in 1987. While in Gilroy, she worked as nursing director at Hospice of the Valley in San Jose and Sunnyview Manor in Cupertino.
She was an active member of Gilroy Presbyterian Church, AAUW (American Association of University Women); Gilroy Salvation Army and team leader and committee co-chair of the Gilroy American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
She is survived by her husband, Alfred of Gilroy; children Patricia Slechta of Belmont and Richard Slechta of West Hollywood; granddaughter Sarah Slechta of Belmont; sisters Jane Cambouris of Lahina, Hawaii and Grace Givan of Parker, Colo.
A Celebration of Life Service takes place at 1pm on Sunday, Feb. 27, at Gilroy Presbyterian Church. Private burial will be at Gavilan Hills Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to Hospice of the Valley, 1150 S. Bascom Ave., Suite 7A, San Jose, CA 95128 or Gilroy Presbyterian Church-Music Program, P.O. Box 1567, Gilroy, CA 95021.
Arrangements were under the direction of Habing Family Funeral Home.
