Obituaries

Marjorie Clampitt Silletto, the daughter of Wendell S. and Ethel G. Clampitt, was a beloved grandmother, mother and wife during her almost 98 years of life. She was born on August 29, 1926 in Marshalltown, Iowa and passed away peacefully on July 28, 2024 in Union City, California.

Marjorie grew up as an only child on her parents’ farm near New Providence, Iowa surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who lived nearby. Her Quaker heritage and attending New Providence Friends Church were an important part of her life. She was active in 4H where she raised a prized calf. Her mother taught her to sew her own clothes and cook. She loved music and learned to play the piano, marimba and accordion.

She attended Iowa State College, now Iowa State University (ISU), in Ames where she studied food and nutrition, earning a B.S. degree in 1948. She met Robert (Bob) Silletto after he returned from the European theater in WWII. He courted her with weekend college dances and gardenia corsages. After working for a year at the Minnesota Dairy Council, she and Bob married on June 4, 1949 at the Methodist Church in Ames, Iowa,

For their honeymoon, they drove across the country and made their first home in Richland, Washington where Bob worked for General Electric as a chemical engineer at the Hanford Nuclear facility. In 1957 they were able to purchase this government-owned home in this semi-arid region near the Columbia River. They enjoyed square dancing, playing Bridge, holiday dinners with friends and Marjorie enjoyed enjoyed teaching cooking and sewing to 4H girls club.

Their family grew between 1951 and 1960 with the addition of four children. They worshipped at Central United Protestant Church and participated in “Kumdubls”, a young couples group where they formed many lasting friendships. Here they participated in regular family potluck dinners and wonderful camping and hiking trips at Mt. Rainier National Park that they and their children loved. Mt. Rainer was one of their favorite places in Washington where they spent many weekends and later, the family backpacked around the mountain. They took summer car or train vacations to Iowa to see relatives including Bob’s siblings, who were like family to Marjorie. The family moved to Fremont, CA in 1962 Bob when was transferred to California.

Cooking was Marjorie’s love language; she was a true Iowa home economist who prepared delicious midwestern meals which always included desserts. She canned and froze fresh fruit and berries and made delicious fruit pies from their Richland backyard tart cherry tree and from local peaches in the area. She was also a talented seamstress who made many clothes for herself and her children. She taught her children piano, sewing and cooking skills. She enjoyed attending her children’s school activities and performances and taking them to music, art, dance and swimming lessons. In Fremont, she was active in the Centerville Presbyterian Church community including a Bible study and book group, as she enjoyed reading, and she was a member of the American Association of University Women and the Open Salt Collectors. In addition to raising her own children, Marjorie was a loved mother figure to others.

Marjorie was thrilled to be a grandmother called Mimi. She spent precious time with her seven grandchildren, individually, taking them on adventures and planning special activities for each one. In their college years, she sent boxes of homemade cookies to them and was called the “Cookie Grandma” by some of their friends.

Marjorie enjoyed traveling with her husband, Bob and after his passing she continued traveling to visit family and friends in Iowa and other places. She loved having guests visit her and would entertain them by cooking delicious meals, playing the marimba and taking them sight seeing. She especially loved spending time with her whole family together. Special family vacations included playing on the beach in Pajaro Dunes, exploring the Berkshires, camping in Yosemite, celebrating her 80th birthday at Mt. Rainier and her 90th birthday at Mammoth Lakes.

Marjorie is survived by her four children, Suzanne Szalay (Kim), John Silletto (Barbra), Patricia Milhous (Carter) and Karen Tokashiki (Robert), seven grandchildren, Parker Milhous (Brianna), Ryan Milhous (Ellie), Jared Milhous (Michaela), Jenna Tokashiki Reiser (Matt), Alan Tokashiki, Lewis Silletto (Julia) and Elisabeth Silletto. She also has five great grandchildren. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.

A private family burial service was held on August 9, 2024. A public Memorial Service will be held August 9, 2025, 1:00 at Centerville Presbyterian Church, 4360 Central Avenue, Fremont, CA 94536