Evelyn Dunnihoo Cates

1940 - 2014

Evelyn Dunnihoo Cates, a resident of Lodi since about 1940, passed away on April 23, 2014 at the age of 98. She is survived by her son Kerry; her grandchildren, Daniel (Cecilia) Bontscho, Cindy (Earl) Bontscho-Moehring, and Jay (Lilia) and Mark (Julie) Dunnihoo; eleven great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister Phyllis Spiegel; her brother Wesley Spiegel; her daughter Jo Ann, who died in 1966; husband Russell who died in 1975; and her second husband Ernest Cates, who died in 1999.
Evelyn was born in Corning, California in 1915 to Phillip and Sarah Wilson Spiegel. She attended college and received her RN in 1939. Also in 1939 she married Russell Dunnihoo and after a brief time in Camanche moved to Lodi. She worked for Lodi Medical Group for many years as Dr. Merwin's nurse. After her retirement, she cared for her sister Phyllis and for her mother. She married Ernest Cates (the guy next door!) in 1996, when she was 80.
She was an active member of First United Methodist church for many years. She touched many lives as a Sunday school teacher. She was a member of a Women's Circle that endured for decades. 
She was always busy gardening and preserving. She loved to give away lots of fruit and vegetables. She continued gardening well into her nineties.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday May 3 at 10 AM at First United Methodist Church, 200 W. Oak Street, Lodi, California. Interment will be private. Donations in her memory can be made either to First United Methodist Church or to her favorite charity, Heifer Project.