Juanita D. Brinkley

Juanita D. Brinkley (Holt, Fisher, Iacomine), 87, passed away peacefully in Napa, on July 19, 2014, with friends and family by her side. Juanita was born in Butte, Montana, on Oct. 6, 1926. Her immigrant Italian family grew up during the Depression and barely had beans to eat.

Sometime after World War II, Juanita and her family moved to San Francisco. Juanita graduated from George Washington High School, class of 1944, in San Francisco. Juanita learned how to weld during World War II and joined the ranks of “Rosie the Riveters,” building war ships at the Oakland Shipyards.

Eventually, her family moved to Sonoma Valley and settled down. Juanita fell in love, moved to Washington state and had a family. They decided to homestead in Alaska and met a wonderful family pal nicknamed T-Bone. Juanita broke-up with her husband and moved back to Sonoma Valley about 1962, dragging old T-Bone and kids with her. Juanita struggled through many obstacles as a waitress in local restaurants. She was trained as a psych-tech and worked at Sonoma Developmental Center for many years. There she helped with the newsletter and wrote many articles. Eventually, she got the “itch” and left to work on the Alaskan Pipeline. When Juanita came back to Sonoma Valley, she befriended and helped many, many people. “Karma pay-back” as she would say.

Many wonderful friends and neighbors considered Juanita the true mayor of Boyes Hot Springs. Juanita held true to the motto of Jack London, “Not to be as a smoldering ash, but to be as a roaring comet, flying high.”

Juanita is predeceased by her husband, Joe; daughter, Camille; and son, Glen. She is survived by daughters, Lynne and Michelle; brother, Dave; grandson Shane; great-grandchildren, Jesse and Camille.

A memorial service will be held at Duggan’s Mission Chapel, 525 W. Napa St., Sonoma, CA 95476, on Friday July 25, 2014, at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Friends In Sonoma Helping (FISH) at P.O. Box 507, Sonoma, CA 95476.

Arrangements are under the direction of Duggan’s Mission Chapel, Mission Cremation Service. Inquiries can be made to them at (707) 996-3655 or by visiting their website at www.duggansmissionchapel.com.

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