GERALDINE ALICE DEVECCHIO

Geraldine Alice Jones Devecchio was born during the "Great Depression" on July 2, 1929, to Edna Alma Pedersen and Elmer Jones. At an early age, she suffered the loss of her father and her only sibling, Edwin Allen "Bubby" Jones, but she did not let these tragedies impede her success in life. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1947, and the Fresno County Hospital Nursing Program in 1950, earning a Registered Nursing degree. She was employed as an R.N. until swept off her feet by the love of her life and companion for the next 60 years, Gino Devecchio. Geraldine was lovingly accepted into a large Italian family, and she connected with each of her five kind and generous but opinionated sisters-in-law. While she learned the secrets of Italian cooking, her Danish customs prevailed in her signature dishes of Frikadeller, Aebleskiver, Danish style red cabbage, and open faced sandwiches. She enjoyed her new life on the family farm and developed an admirable work ethic, as well as a love for animals. She tended and raised a coop of free range Bantam chickens for most of her life, and took in every stray animal coming her way. She served as a board member to the Madison School PTA and preserved records of family history by documenting facts from previous generations. Above all, she showered her family with the utmost love, devotion, and care. The farm became a second home to her two grandchildren, whom she spoiled on the holidays with Easter egg hunts, home cooked meals, and hand wrapped presents. Her greatest gift was her smile, a token of her enduring kindness and generosity to others. Geraldine was preceded in death by her husband, Gino O. Devecchio. She is survived by her daughters, Clarice Devecchio, Denise Devecchio, and Elise Devecchio- Cavagnaro and her husband Andrew; and her two cherished grandchildren, Olivia and Nathan Cavagnaro, knew her as their "Grana." She inspired in them a passion to work hard and the strength to always pursue their dreams. Geraldine was interred at St. Peter's Cemetery in Fresno, CA, where a private service was held in celebration of her life.