Livio Cristanelli, a founding member of the club in 1980, passed away on April 1st.
Livio’s parents immigrated from Fondo in the Val di Non to the coalmining town of
Superior, Wyoming. He retired after working for Sunset Scavengers for 34 years,
reaching the position of president. As stated in his obituary: For some my decisions
were not always the most popular, but I always considered taking care of the working.
Livio also owned and operated the Tropicana Motel in Lake Tahoe and other investments around the lake. We extend our sincerest condolences to Livio’s wife, Marlene, and to his entire family. Livio will be sorely missed by us all.
Sister Rosangela Angeli, a native of Cloz, Val di Non, passed away on October 14th in Besozzo (Varese). She was the sister of club member Gemma
Angeli Zueck and aunt to many nephews and nieces here in California. She worked as a registered nurse for years at a hospital in Merano, primarily with the
minority Italian-speaking patients. She then transferred to the San Pangrazio Hospital in Arco, Trentino. Suora Rosangela belonged to the Order of the Santa Croce (Holy Cross) that was founded in Switzerland in the 1800s. She spent her final years at the order’s institute in Besozzo, As a side note, the nuns at the institute risked their lives during the war hiding Jews and finding safe passage for many to Switzerland (click here for more information). We send our condolences to Gemma and the entire family.
Michael J. Parks
On November 7th Michael J. Parks passed away at Stanford Hospital after a long battle with myelofibrosis and myeloid leukemia. Michael’s great-grandparents, Giorgio and Ida Mengon, were from Piazzola in the Val di Rabbi. They immigrated to Columbia Falls, Montana at the beginning of the last century. Michael’s cousin, Father Alberto Mengon, invited him to our 2012 Christmas event. Michael looked forward to becoming an active member of the Circolo Trentino. It is with great sorrow that we heard of his passing at the
young age of 45. Michael was originally from Seattle. He attended UC Berkeley and received a PhD in applied mathematics in 1994. He worked as a software engineer and held three US patents. Our sincere condolences go out to Michael’s family.
Ursula Leonardi
On February 14th Ursula Leonardi passed away at her home in Menlo Park, just shy of her 99thbirthday. Ursula was a founding member of our club and our first treasurer. Her parents, Luigi and Maria Leonardi, immigrated from Daone in Trentino. We send our deepest condolences to Ursula’s friends and family.
James Harrison Disney
James Harrison Disney passed away on December 13th. He was a native of North Dakota and long time resident of Walnut Creek. He became an honorary Trentino when he married Olga Degiorgio, whose family immigrated to Utah from Spera in the Valsugana. We send our sympathies to the entire family.
Giorgio Bortolon, nephew to our treasurer Laura Floriani Vitlacil and to club member Pierluigi Bortolon, unexpectedly died from a heart attack in Trentino. On the day of his funeral, Christmas Eve, Laura’s oldest sister, Anna Floriani, also passed away. We send our heartfelt sympathies to Laura, Pierluigi and the entire family.
Our condolences also go out to Tom Ecker whose wife Jan Ecker lost her battle with cancer on August 4th.
Lucille Norris, nee Zanoni, passed away on November 29th at the age of 76. We send our deepest sympathy to husband Tom in Newport Beach, CA, and to brothers Bob, Paul, Richard, Larry and Leonard Zanoni.
