Obituaries for February 19, 2009

Louis F. ‘Bud’ Gianelli

April 16, 1928 —Feb. 13, 2009

Former Sonora insurance adjuster and lawyer Louis F. “Bud” Gianelli died Feb. 13 following complications from a long illness at a Modesto care home. He was 80.

Mr. Gianelli was born in Stockton and, at age 16, joined the U.S. Navy. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in business.

He and Jacqueline Morrow were married on July 20, 1950, in Stockton. The next year, they moved to Modesto and Mr. Gianelli became an insurance adjuster for Earl Gaarde’s firm. He later became a partner with Bud Freese and started the insurance adjusting firm Freese & Gianelli in Modesto with branches in Sonora, Merced and Stockton. Mr. Gianelli attended the Humphreys School of Law in Stockton and started his law practice in Modesto in 1972. He established Gianelli & Associates, which employs nine attorneys including Gianelli’s sons Michael and Dave Gianelli.

He served on the boards of the Modesto Rotary, Lions Club, Modesto Chamber of Commerce, the American Heart Association, Memorial Hospital Association, the Stanislaus County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Family and friends said he was a dedicated public servant who got things done. Mr. Gianelli was named the Modesto Man of the Year and inducted into the Modesto Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame.

He enjoyed tennis, golf, scuba diving, biking and hiking. He also enjoyed going on family vacations and traveling with his wife.

Mr. Gianelli is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jacqueline Morrow Gianelli, of Modesto; sons Michael and Dave Gianelli, of Modesto, and Jim Gianelli, of Sonora; his sister, Louise Rosenbaum, of Stockton; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was held at 9:30 a.m. today at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, 1200 Maze Blvd., Modesto.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in his name may be made to the Modesto Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 672, Modesto, 95353 or to a favorite charity.

Franklin and Downs Funeral Home of Modesto is handling arrangements.

Judy Lisse Ferrell

June 1, 1925 — Feb. 12, 2009

Longtime Columbia resident Judy Lisse Ferrell died Feb. 12 at a Sonora doctor’s office. She was 83.

Mrs. Ferrell was a New York native and served as a pharmacist’s mate in the U.S. Navy WAVES from 1945 to 1946. She graduated from Michigan State College and held graduate degrees from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo and San Jose State University.

She moved to Jamestown from Goleta, Santa Barbara County, in 1980, and was a resident of Columbia for 23 years. She was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Sonora, PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and the Sonora Regional Medical Center Auxiliary. Mrs. Ferrell was also a past president of Young Ladies Institute at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James T. Ferrell Jr.; and her daughter, Judy Ferrell Cloer.

Mrs. Ferrell is survived by her sister, Dolly Turnblad, of San Francisco; children and their spouses, Richard McIntosh and Helen Argyres, of Piedmont, Susan McIntosh and Mickey Reilly, of Atascadero, Sue and Bob Ginther, of Lompoc, Tom and Peg McIntosh, of Colorado, Jim Ferrell and Bobbi Parsons, of Arizona, Cathy McIntosh and Jan Pardoe, of Berkeley, Michael Ferrell, of Oregon, and Marilee and Claude Muncey, of Modesto; four nieces and nephews; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. March 7 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. Interment will be at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in Sonora.

A donation in her name may be made to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Habitat for Humanity or Heifer International.

Terzich and Wilson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.