Obituaries

Retired employee Ernestine Rosa Castillo

Note: The following obituary appeared on DignityMemorial.com this past summer.

Ernestine Rosa Castillo, age 89, of San Diego, passed away on Sunday, June 4. Ernestine was born on Aug. 30, 1933 in San Diego to Elenor and Marcelo Surposa.

Ernestine is survived by her two sons, William Vicaldo Jr. And Eugene Vicaldo.

Ernestine was blessed to have six grandsons and one granddaughter.

Lil Bill, Joseph, Jason, Daniel, Eli, Robert, Lalena and great-grandchildren Jason Jr., Jacob, Daniel Jr., Jewels, William Jr IV, Makayla, Jada, Jalena, Alyssa, Jordyn, Maya, Jaclyn, Eugene, Emalyn, Ellisyn, Bow and Blyss.

After spending 29 years working for Caltrans and dedicating over half a century to the Logan Inn Bar, Ernestine loved spending her free time playing the slots at Barona Casino, and taking her grandkids and great grandchildren out for dinners. Her caring and generous heart was appreciated by all.

Ernestine was known to have hosted some of the greatest celebrations ever. One of Ernestine’s few and final wishes was to have all family, friends and loved ones be present for her celebration of life, smiling and remembering, she will forever be a part of your hearts.

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Retired engineer Kenneth LeRoy Johnson

Note: The following obituary appeared in the Galt Herald on Oct. 20.

Kenneth LeRoy Johnson passed from this life to the next on September 7th after a 10-day stay at Lodi Adventist Hospital where he was surrounded by a constant stream of family and friends. He died of pneumonia, brought on by complications of Guillain-Barre syndrome and 20 years of leukemia (CLL).

Ken was born in Sacramento on June 15, 1938. A local Galt resident of 85 years, Ken attended Arno and Twin Cities grammar schools and Galt High School. He married his high school sweetheart, Polly Lamb, and was blessed with a 66-year marriage.

He will have quite the welcoming committee by those who preceded him in death: his son, Ken Junior; parents Louise and Gus Johnson; sister Dorothy Gross; brothers Robert Johnson, Arvid Johnson, Gus “Johnny” Johnson, Carl Johnson; brothers-in-law Art Gross and Brad Bradford; and sisters-in-law Ruth Gross, Ray Johnson, Dixie Johnson, and May Johnson.

He is survived by his wife Polly Johnson; daughter Sherri Bua (Mike) of Lockeford; adored grandchildren Derrick “Ricky” Santiago and Kailee Santiago, both of Galt; non-biological grandkids, Stacie Hines of El Dorado Hills and Rob LaVine of Galt; sisters Jeanne Cartwright (Steve) of Kuna, Idaho; Irene Bradford of Elk Grove, and brother Jack Johnson (Sue) of Woodbridge; countless nieces and nephews; and his spoiled and beloved dog Scooby.

Ken was hired on with the state’s highway department (now Caltrans) as a draftsman in 1957 and left in 1979 to join a prestigious engineering firm, CH2M Hill, where he worked as an engineering tech/bridge designer until retirement in 1999. He often said he was very fortunate he had a job he loved and felt lucky to have established so many longtime friendships over the years.

In his early years, Ken was an accomplished bowler, skilled trap shooter, enjoyed hunting, fishing, golfing and handicapping horse races. In his later work years and retirement years, he discovered he was a very talented artist and painted many canvases and wall murals for family and friends.

He was diagnosed with CLL in 2002, with a short prognosis, but has lived a very happy and full life for the past 20 years despite the leukemia. He will best be remembered for his sense of humor and his love of a good laugh, to the point of tears; his love of sports and games, especially professional golf and the Sacramento Kings; and being the neighborhood grandpa.

He will especially be remembered by his grandson as Rick’s best friend and audience member, along with countless laughs they’ve shared. And by granddaughter, Kailee, who he affectionately referred to as his precious little chickadee.