Obituaries

Emmanuella Josephine (“Nella”) Rezzuto Banwarth, age 97, passed away in Union City, California, on June 26, 2014. Born July 15, 1916 in Chicago to the late Frank and Rose Rollo Rezzuto, she was pre-deceased by her husband Cletus Stephan Banwarth; infant daughter Judith; brother Frank Rezzuto; and son-in-law Ed Hubbard.

She is survived by two brothers, Jerry Rezzuto and John Rezzuto, and a sister, Josephine Rezzuto, all of Chicago. She leaves three sons and two daughters: Stephen (Linda) Banwarth of Aiken, South Carolina; Phillip (Susan) Banwarth of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Mark (Kim) Banwarth of Camas, Washington and Malaysia; Nella Jean Banwarth of Newark, California; and Lisa Banwarth-Kuhn of Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition, she is survived by ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Nella was a teacher, a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and a life-long volunteer. She graduated from DePaul University in Chicago and, when she married, raised her family in Millbrae, California, before she and her husband retired to Los Gatos, where she lived for many years before moving to retirement communities in Fremont and Union City. She spoke several languages and enjoyed travel, sewing and reading.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 1, 10am at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 37588 Fremont Blvd., Fremont, CA 94536. A Graveside Service will be held at 2pm at Golden Gate National Cemetery, 1300 Sneath Lane, San Bruno, CA 94066.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made in her memory to a charity of the donor’s choice.