Obituaries

Janet Marie Spinale, age 81, of San Francisco, passed away peacefully on November 11, 2020, at her residence in Martinez, CA. She was born October 7, 1939, in San Francisco, the daughter of the late William and Elsie Baroncini. Janet was preceded in death by her husband of almost 50 …

Tobie Gene Levingston, who founded the East Bay Dragons, one of the nation’s first all-Black motorcycle clubs, died Tuesday morning of natural causes at the age of 86. Levingston was born in Louisiana in 1934 to a sharecropper father who made the migration West, along with thousands of other black …

Celeste Marques passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of December 15, 2019. She was born on March 27, 1927 in Lowell, Massachusetts where her parents settled after emigrating to the United States from Madeira, Portugal. As a young girl, Celeste moved to Paul Do Mar, a small Portuguese …

BY MASON BISSADA Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson passed away Thursday at the age of 83. Robinson, a true trailblazer, was the first African American manager in Major League Baseball history and the only player to win the MVP Award in both the American and National leagues.  Former Giants …

Mike Cusack passed away on Tuesday December 18th, 2018. He was surrounded by his three loving daughters, two son-in-laws, his sister and his best friend of 55 years.  Mike was born in Modesto, to Mary and George Cusack on July 24th, 1949. He grew up in Pleasant Hill, graduated Pleasant Hill …

Mrs. Thelma Joyce (Beisley) Tolerton, passed away from a brief illness with family by her side, at age 86 on October 22, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California. She was born on February 23, 1932 in Oakland, to the late Thelma Ruth and William Fredrick Beisley. Known by her family and …

  Jane Baird Silva passed away October 10th surrounded by her family at the age of 95. She was born in St. Mary’s, Ohio to James Richard and Mabel Baird and was raised in Greenville, Ohio. Jane met Donald Silva, now deceased, while serving in the U.S. Marines (’43-’45) at …

Dorothy Masayko, daughter of Pauline and Jacob Lorenz, passed away on August 5, 2018. Dorothy was born in Billings MT and attended the University of Montana. When the U.S. entered World War II, she volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Corps of the US Army. Near the end of the war …

  In March of 1938, Marjorie Anne Ross, a resident of Martinez, was born into the world in St.Paul, Minnesota, being the youngest child and second daughter of Louis and Mable Herschler. The family would eventually move to Indiana, whereupon she would enter Elkhart High School, and was imbued with …

Well-known Martinez resident William H. ‘Bill’ Wainwright passed away on May 19 at his home after a 15-month battle with brain cancer. He was 75 years-old. A memorial service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Although Wainwright spent his earliest years away from Martinez, …