All Obituaries

Lucille (Luci) Jones passed away on May 14, 2019 at Renaissance at Timber Ridge, McKinleyville. She was 89. During her short illness of heart failure and pneumonia, she was surrounded by family and friends. Luci was a very social person and seemed glad to have a crowded room at Hospice House in Eureka where she spent most of her final last week of life. Luci was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 20, 1930. She grew up in Maywood, a suburb of Chicago and graduated from Proviso High...

Elvin Joseph Leger, age 93, died on April 30, 2019 at St. Joseph Hospital of cardiac arrest.  He is survived by step-daughters, Donna (Jerry) Richardson of Ferndale and Sandra Sullivan of Fortuna. His legacy includes 7 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 11 great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews of Louisiana. He was the last surviving sibling of five and was predeceased by his wife, Karla, of almost 50 years, in 2007.  He was born November 19, 1925...

Bonnie Margaret (Britt) Tanferani, a life-long resident of Humboldt County, passed away peacefully the evening of April 5, 2019. Born Feb 5, 1945, Bonnie was a 1962 graduate of Eureka High school and continued to raise Cain with her classmates for the next almost 60 years. In high school, Bonnie was a majorette and band officer and after high school, worked for Optometrist, Dr. Paul Burns, for nearly 10 years. Bonnie left Eureka and traded her beloved 1956 Corvette for a long line of...

With sadness, we regretfully announce the death of our mother, Carolyn Florence Burns. Carolyn grew up in the Bay Area and moved to Eureka with her husband, Paul J. Burns in 1953. She made Eureka her home for the rest of her life. She loved Humboldt County and all of its beauty and was very active in the vibrant art community especially the Redwood Art Association. When referred to as an artist, she modestly said she was not an artist, simply a painter. She loved her visits to the Bay Area...

With great sadness, the family of Randal Leland Mendes announces his passing on March 30, 2019 at the age of 59. Randy will be lovingly remembered by his family, mother Elsie Mendes, sisters Elaine Francisco, Jennifer McManus (Dirk) and Deann Dyer. Randy’s children Clinton, Janice and Melissa Mendes and nieces and nephews Katelyn Francisco, Andrew and Danielle Dyer. He was predeceased by his father Frank C. Mendes and brother-in-law Larry Francisco. He graduated from Eureka High...

1944 - 2019 Janice Johnson passed away early morning on March 25, from complications of lung cancer. Janice was born in Oakland US Naval hospital on May 17, 1944, to Jack and Fran Smith. She went to local schools and graduated from Eureka High School in 1962. Two years later she married her high school sweetheart, Ron Johnson. Janice worked at Twin Harbours for a few years and then became a receptionist for Dr. Williams-Ashely, retiring in 2000. Janice enjoyed canning string beans and...

Mel Berning, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend passed away peacefully on March 22, surrounded by his loving wife and family. Mel was born on Friday April 13, 1928 to Gus and Christina (Busch) Berning in Dubuque, Iowa. Thirteen was always a great number for Mel, as he was also the thirteenth and final child born to his parents. Raised in North Dakota, Mel worked the farm with his father before going off to college. He always retained the practical, down to earth, farm boy...

Eugene (Dutch) Bilderback passed away on March 13 at age 84. He was born on February 23, 1935 in Eureka where he lived all his life attending Franklin Elementary school, Eureka Jr. High and Eureka Senior High, the latter place where he enjoyed playing baseball and following that sport for many years. Later he followed in the footsteps of his father and brother Vernon by working as a local longshoreman until his retirement in his later years.  He is survived by his brother James and...

Don was born at St. Joseph Hospital and his parents are Carolyn and Eugene Sullivan. The family lived on Cock Robin Island until Don was 13 years old when the family moved to Ferndale and a few years later moved to West End.  Don and Joan were married in 1950 and raised two children, a son Dan and a daughter Suzanne. Don was a hard worker and enjoyed meeting customers at Nilsen Co. in Eureka where he worked for 30 years.  Raising many animals on his ranch at Freshwater Don was...

Gertrude (Trudy) Schneider passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2019 in Eureka. She was 88. Trudy was born in Plainfield, New Jersey on May 19, 1930, to Frieda and Alfred Lentzsch. She married William Schneider in 1954, and the couple lived in Plainfield until 1957, when they relocated to Whittier, California, where they raised their four children. In 2002, they moved to Salem, Oregon, near their youngest daughter and her family. In 2013, they relocated to McKinleyville, nearer to their three...