Zelda Jelich
A funeral service for Zelda M. Jelich will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, February 17, at Crippen & Flynn Woodside Chapel, 400 Woodside Road in Redwood City. Visitation at the chapel will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, February 16.Ms. Jelich, 81, died February 12 at her Portola Valley home, surrounded by her family. She was the widow of Walter P. Jelich, a member of one of Portola Valley’s pioneer families. Mr. Jelich died in 2000.
The Jelich fruit orchards were a valley landmark for generations. During the 1970s and 1980s, hundreds of schoolchildren visited the Jelich ranch during harvest season to pick out a pumpkin or receive an apple from Mr. Jelich. People came from all over the Bay Area to visit the Jelich fruit stand for apples, pears and apricots.
Ms. Jelich was born in the Decoto area of Alameda County and raised in Pescadero. She was Redwood City’s first Rodeo Queen in 1941, and graduated from Sequoia High School in 1942, the same year she and Walter were married.
She is survived by two daughters, Joyce Pilkington of Redwood City and Jeanne Ladley of Portola Valley; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Memorials in Ms. Jelich’s name may be made to the American Heart Association or St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, 3500 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
John Morgan Pinkerton III
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 15, at Valley Presbyterian Church at 945 Portola Road in Portola Valley, for John Morgan Pinkerton III, who died February 6 of natural causes in Aurora, Colorado. He was 74.Mr. Pinkerton, who was Valley Presbyterian’s head groundsman for 27 years, was also a caretaker of the elderly in his later years, friends said. Mr. Pinkerton volunteered with the nonprofit Partners in Caring, which delivers services to improve the lives of older adults and is based at Stanford hospital.
While most volunteers cared for one patient, Mr. Pinkerton would care for four, said Partners in Caring administrator Candace Mindigo. “He took a personal interest in everybody and went way beyond the call of duty many, many times,” she said.
He was a beloved figure in the community, said Valley Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. Dr. Mark Goodman-Morris.
Mr. Pinkerton was a native of Tennessee and moved with his family to Palo Alto in the mid-1930s. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from San Jose State College in 1954, friends said.
Mr. Pinkerton served two years in the Army in the mid-1950s and in the 1960s, worked for IBM. Later he lived in Grass Valley, where he worked for county government, friends said.
Mr. Pinkerton was a member of the Sai Baba religious sect, a peace-loving denomination based in India. He loved sports and enjoyed San Francisco Giants baseball games and football and basketball games at Stanford, friends said.
He is survived by twin brother George Pinkerton of Aurora, Colorado; brother Rolffs Pinkerton of North Carolina; and stepdaughter Heather Smith of Davis. Two of his three wives — Sandy Smith of Davis, and Therese Stillman of Ashland, Oregon — are still living. His second wife, Maggie, died in 1970.
The family prefers memorials be in the form of donations to a proposed prayer and meditation garden to be built on the Valley Presbyterian grounds. Send donations to Valley Presbyterian Church c/o John Pinkerton Memorial, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028.
Josephine Ferrarini
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, February 15, at St. Raymond Catholic Church for Josephine M. Ferrarini, who died February 3 at her home in Menlo Park. She was 95.Ms. Ferrarini was born in Agawam, Massachusetts, and moved to San Francisco, where she met and married her husband, Ferd. They raised a family in San Mateo before moving to Menlo Park in 1950.
They purchased the Valparaiso Grocery at 1902 Valparaiso Ave., which she managed for 25 years.
Ms. Ferrarini was active in the Catholic Daughters, Italian Catholic Federation and Friends of the Menlo Park Library. She enjoyed traveling and visiting with friends and family.
She is survived by her son, Richard; daughter Carol Ferrarini; brother John Lovotti; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Her husband, Ferd, and grandson, Brant, preceded her in death.
Memorials may be made to Pathways Hospice or St. Vincent de Paul Society. Arrangements are under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
