Life Tributes for the week of 5/22/19
Joan Mary Caplin
Joan Mary Caplin, age 85, of Manteca, died at Vintage Fair Nursing home in Modesto from complications of a stroke.
She passed away on May 9, 2019, leaving behind her loving husband of 60 years, Maurice and son Mark, sister Joyce and brother Bill.
She was preceded in death by her brother Ronnie.
She was born in Battersea, London, England, in June, 1933, and moved to the U.S. in 1964. She started out in Southern California and then moved to Plumas County, where she loved working as a teacher’s aid; moved to San Luis Obispo and eventually settled in Manteca for the last 25 years.
Joan was an avid reader, loved tending the roses in her garden and loved to travel, enjoying many cruises aboard cruise ships. She loved animals, especially dogs and cats.
Graveside services will be Friday, May 24, at St. Johns cemetery, 17871 Carrolton Rd, Escalon, CA 95320, at 11 a.m. She will be greatly missed.
As a constant fixture in the library and because of her love of reading, the family hopes she finds a well-stocked library in which to spend eternity reading her favorite books.
Nancy Pierson
Nancy Gail Pierson was born Aug. 20, 1933, in Westwood to Arthur and Fern Jensen. She graduated from Chester High and went on to receive a teaching credential from Chico State. She married Fred Pierson Jr. in 1952. Nancy taught kindergarten at Greenville Elementary for 25 years.
Nancy loved cats and chocolate, particularly See’s fudge. She had a wry wit and kept a good sense of humor about life up to the end.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Carol Dezell and her husband.
She is survived by her five children: Leanna Pierson, of Sacramento; Fred Pierson III, of Los Angeles; Ken Pierson, of Portola; Chuck Pierson, of Quincy and Dave Pierson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on June 1 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 285 E. 5th St., Chico. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Plumas County Museum, [email protected] or 283- 6320.
Arthur R. Scoppwer
Arthur was born Feb. 14, 1929, to Paul and Susanne Scoppwer in Trier, West Germany. He died in his 90th year on May 13, 2019. He immigrated to the USA in 1952, becoming a U.S. citizen five years later. “Dutch” was nicknamed by co-workers who couldn’t pronounce his name. After several small jobs he worked for Western Electric and the AT&T, retiring in 1993 after 43 years.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years Peggy O’Neil Scoppwer, his son Fritz (Arial) Scoppwer and his daughter Suzanne (Skip) Scoppwer. Proud Opa to Jackson, Tyler and Emily. He has one sister, Hannalore Becker in Trier and several nieces and nephews.
He loved horses, raised cattle and made a choice grass hay.
Per request, no services will take place.
Dana John Smith
Dana John Smith (The Chef), 72, passed away peacefully on April 24, 2019. His loving wife and best friend, Carol, of 47 years was at his side. He died of complications of prostate cancer.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Nadine and John Smith, and his sisters, Judy Klody and Shirley Ball.
He is survived by his sister, Deanna Marks (Pat) and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his stepchildren of Carol, Daniel Allen and Sherie (Allen) Tobin.
He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Dana served in the military and was a paratrooper in the 82nd Army Airborne Division.
Dana and Carol met in Berkeley in the early 70s. He was a woodworker and craftsman. Together they created their first and one of many “Lifestyle Businesses.” They were creating custom furniture and art sculptures from used and re-claimed wood. They were members of the Berkeley Art Festival Guild and participated in all of the local art and craft shows. They also did remodeling and construction. Dana coined the word “carpentress” and took pride in saying Carol was the first carpentress in Berkeley.
After leaving Berkeley in the late 70s, they took on major rehabs on problem apartment and condominium properties, from Orange County, Los Angeles, Houston, Texas and Reno, Nevada. Dana loved the challenge of upgrading the properties and with his creative talents and Carol’s managerial skills they were very successful.
Dana’s creativity was relentless and he was always taking on woodworking projects. He built a pole barn on their property in Cold Springs, Nevada, and after selling it they were able to make the move up to Plumas county in 2003. That’s when Dana started “Cowboy Cabinland” and custom designed and built a total of four Cowboy Cabins out of all recycled wood: one in Graeagle; two in Almanor; and one in Meadow Valley.
As time went on he started creating one-of-a-kind and limited edition jewelry out of recycled materials. It was quite a change from working with large pieces of wood.
In 2010 Dana and Carol enrolled in the Culinary Arts Program at FRC. They wanted to open their own mom-and-pop neighborhood bakery. As part of his entrepreneur and restaurant management classes he was to research available locations. Unfortunately there was nothing suitable budget wise and location. However, in January 2013 a new law passed in California, AB-1616, allowing for cottage industry home kitchen baking and permitted by Plumas County Environmental Health.
So in 2013 they both graduated with their certificates. In July 2013 the started their home kitchen bakery called “We Bake 4 U.” Carol continues to keep this going and feels blessed to be in this community that supports her baked goods all over town.
There will be a celebration of Dana’s life at the Quincy United Methodist Church on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. All are welcome.
Agnes Tullius
Agnes Marie Johnson Tullius, 98, passed away on January 16, 2019, in Agoura Hills.
Agnes was born January 17, 1921, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At age 12, when her father passed away, the family moved to New York City. In 1946, she met a young sailor, Gerald (Jerry) Tullius, at the USO in New York City. They were married on June 2, 1946, in Los Angeles, where over the next several years they had their five children.
While in Los Angeles, Jerry worked for NCR in the cash register department. He eventually switched to training at their new computer department in Dayton, Ohio. From the mid 1950s, the family moved to various locations in the United States (most were associated with military bases). They lived in Ohio (Dayton), Arizona (Phoenix) and Virginia (Falls Church and Annandale); until NCR finally transferred them back to California in 1963. Settling in San Diego County, Jerry and Agnes still made more moves (Vista and Chula Vista) before settling on San Marcos for their permanent home. After 54 years of marriage, Jerry passed away of a health condition in San Diego on January 29, 2000.
Agnes always enjoyed her activities in many parishes. She was even involved with the annual San Luis Rey Mission fiesta in Oceanside. Agnes had fond memories of her family and the places she visited after retirement and with her children. She was also fond of remembering the history of her famous relative, Cardinal Paul Melchers, who is interred in the Cologne Cathedral, in Germany. He was involved with the First Vatican Council in 1869-1870.
Agnes is survived by her five children: Dena (Geraldine) Tullius Beaudine (Robert Beaudine Jr.) of Westlake Village; Inez Tullius Robbins (Robert Robbins, deceased) of Quincy; Paul Tullius (Claire Mills Tullius) of Loveland, Clorado; Noma Tullius Bates (Ralph Bates) of Lake Forest; Stephen Tullius (Que Anh Nguyen [Bui] Tullius) of Vista; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Agnes survived her mother and father as well as several sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews in New York and North Carolina.
Agnes’ services will be determined at a later date. She will be interred with her husband at the San Marcos Cemetery in California.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations made to: St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (P.O. Box 1000, Dept 142, Memphis, TN 38148, ph. 1-800-231-3441); or the Elizabeth Hospice (500 La Terraza Blvd #130, Escondido, CA 95025, ph. 1-800-797-2050); or to St. Jude Apostle Catholic Church (32032 Lindero Canyon Rd, Westlake Village, CA 91361, ph. 1-818-889-1279); or to St. Mark’s Catholic Church (1147 Discovery St. San Marcos, CA 92078, ph. 1-760-744-1540).