Ann Ameral

1954 - 2023

Ann Ameral
September 9, 1954 - June 18, 2023
Modesto, California - Ann Quintina Ameral of Modesto, California, passed from this life on Sunday, June 18, 2023, after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer. She was 68 years old.
Ann was born on September 19, 1954, in San Francisco, California, to John and Hazel Ameral, and was the youngest of their five children. After high school, Ann moved to the Central Valley and attended Stanislaus State University where she earned her BA. She returned to San Francisco after graduation where she continued her education at Hastings Law School. Upon her graduation from Hastings, she returned to Modesto where she opened her own law firm. She worked for many years in private practice specializing in family law before closing her office in 2007 to become a court commissioner. At the time of her appointment to the bench, Ann held the distinction of being the first court commissioner to ever be elected to a judicial position in Stanislaus County. In her judicial capacity, she presided over the Juvenile Dependency department for 13 years before her final illness. Her knowledge of the law and her exemplary professionalism earned great respect from her peers and co-workers throughout the legal community. She was a member of the California Bar Association, the Lyons Club, and Friend of CASA.
In her professional life, she served the families and children of the Stanislaus County foster care system with distinction. In doing so, she made it her mission to be fair and as compassionate as she possibly could, oftentimes under extremely difficult circumstances, because she realized it was the children who suffered or benefitted the most from her decisions. Ann had a servant's heart, and her calling in this life was to help those who could not help themselves.
In her personal life, Ann was generous and loving and had a wicked sense of humor. She had a brilliant smile that could light up a room, but those who knew her realized her devilish grin often meant she was up to something. She also had a great zest for life. One of the things her husband loved the most about her was that she would often spontaneously break out dancing - always with a huge smile on her face. She loved music, reading, and was known to bake the best Christmas cookies to share with family and friends during the holidays.
Ann also loved to travel the world and was adventurous, whether it was ziplining in Costa Rica or swimming with sharks in Tahiti. Some of her favorite places were Santorini, Greece, London, England, Barcelona, Spain, and any place in Portugal, Mexico, Italy, France, Tahiti, Alaska, and the Dominican Republic.
Ann was preceded in death by her parents, John and Hazel Ameral, and her brother, Paul Ameral. She is survived by her sisters, Mary Kerrigan, Grace Ameral, Carole Pluta, several nieces and nephews, and her beloved husband, Paul Richard Vargas.
A visitation for Ann will be held on Thursday, July 13, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Lakewood Funeral Home, Riverside Chapel, 900 Santa Fe Avenue, Hughson, California. A funeral service will occur on Friday, July 14, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., at Lakewood Funeral Home, Riverside Chapel.