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She died Dec. 17 at 90.
Ken Tominaga
There are lovers of sushi in and around Sonoma County who hold that there was no dining experience equal to having Ken Tominaga present you one of his specialty rolls or other delicacies at Hana Japanese Restaurant in Rohnert Park.
The soft-spoken Tominaga was a master whose patrons regarded him and his food with awe. Fellow chefs regarded him a role model.
Tominaga died May 23. He was 61.
Lenny Weinstein
By trade, Monte Rio’s Lenny Weinstein was a sign painter.
He was also an artist, hiker and environmentalist committed to preserving the beauty and vitality of the lower Russian River region.
In the 1980s he noticed blue ribbons on 70 redwoods that Caltrans intended to remove from alongside Highway 116 in the Monte Rio area. Weinstein led a successful effort to save the marked redwoods, at one point adorning them with construction-paper hearts of pink, purple and orange.
He died Dec. 4 at age 87.
Sally Watson
Sally Watson lived the last third of her remarkable life in a Santa Rosa cottage graced by gardens and cats and books. Many of those books were historical novels that she wrote.
Her first, published in 1954, was titled “Highland Rebel.” It was set in Scotland in 1745 and starred a fearless girl who yearned to be out fighting the British.
In addition to writing 24 books, Watson was at various times a competitive Scottish Highland dancer, a World War II member of the Navy WAVES and the holder of a black belt in judo.
She died March 11, at 98.
Bill Konrad
Bill Konrad was not your typical certified public accountant.
He was gregarious, loved a good party. “He had a personality that people gravitated toward,” said one of his daughters, Annette Kluse.
Konrad had a full, prosperous career with a global accounting firm, took mandatory retirement in 1999 and promptly purchased the elegant, 1881 Madrona Manor outside of Healdsburg.
He and his wife, Trudi, thrived then as innkeepers/restaurateurs.
Konrad died Oct. 19 at 82.
Adele Pruitt
For most of her 99 years, Adele Pruitt of Ukiah created art, restored fine pieces of art and blew the minds of people who trained to be artists.
One student of Pruitt, Jeanette Carson, recalls the teacher eyeing her landscape and saying, “Your mountain is too high.” Carson replied, “I just can’t lower a mountain.”
Pruitt came back, “You’re an artist. You can do anything.”
Says Carson, “I’ll never forget how that made me feel — terrified and empowered at the same time.”
Pruitt died Feb. 20.
Jean-Marie Heskett
Jean-Marie Heskett lived for many years with memories of her childhood experiences in the Philippines before she sat down with her son, Sonoma County radio DJ Michael “Doc” McCoy, and put them in a book. Not a happy one.
At the outset of World War II, Heskett was 6 and living with her parents in Japanese-occupied Manila. They were imprisoned for three ghastly years in Japan’s Santa Tomas internment camp.
The book, “Through My Mother’s Eyes,” was published in 2008.
Heskett died Oct. 15 at 87.
Fred Groverman
Lifelong Petaluma resident Fred Groverman was a sheep rancher, veterinarian, 4-H leader and powerhouse in many aspects of public life in southern Sonoma County. Groverman Hall at Petaluma Valley Hospital bears his name because his leadership was key to the health care center being built.
He died Feb. 12 at 88.
John Gallagher
John Gallagher was a tough-minded criminal prosecutor who became a widely admired Sonoma County Superior Court judge. On his own time, he pressed the Catholic Church to deal more aggressively with the scourge of child sexual abuse by priests.
The Santa Rosa resident died Oct. 28 at 84.
Ray Templeton
Ray Templeton was hailed by many as “Mr. Montgomery” because of the immense talent, pride and spirit he exhibited through the years that he announced basketball games at Santa Rosa’s Montgomery High School.
Templeton was often asked to help, too, with myriad other events and activities at the school. His answer was reliably yes.
He died Sept. 3 at 59.
Rob Reyes
Rob Reyes was happy cooking at downtown Santa Rosa’s La Rosa Tequileria, which he co-owned, and when off work he was happy riding his bicycle with the co-workers he cherished.
The ride on Aug. 23 was an exemplary one until Reyes and his bike slammed into a bollard intended to block cars from entering the West County Trail near Graton.
Reyes was killed. He was 52.
Dick Hafner
To work a ranch was an ambition for Dick Hafner until he purchased 100 acres in Alexander Valley in 1967. Hafner Vineyard became his full-time focus after he retired as a public affairs and events officer at UC Berkeley.
Hafner died Nov. 17 at 96.
Stephen Gale
An ardent believer in the potential for people in government to lift up lives, Stephen Gale led the Democratic Party central committee in Sonoma County before becoming district director for Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
Gale died March 19 at 69.
Phyllis Gurney
Phyllis Gurney — teacher, fitness instructor and trusty supporter of numerous nonprofits serving humanity and animals — touched many lives through the nearly 30 years she lived in Sonoma Valley.
Bill Lynch, the retired newspaper publisher and civic leader, said that through her doggedness, kindness and “indomitable attitude about life,” Gurney made the valley a better place.
She died Jan. 22 at 76.
Kirk Veale
Kirk Veale of Santa Rosa sold cars, invested in real estate, encouraged women to become entrepreneurs, supported the Salvation Army and put up a good many billboards, including the electronic one alongside Highway 101 in Rohnert Park.
Veale died Feb. 15. He was 82.
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