Joseph Martinelli

Joseph Martinelli, one of the last pioneers who helped settle a portion of the original Martinelli Ranch in Forestville, entered into his resting place on Thursday, May 15, 2014. He transformed the wild land into a beautiful garden of grapevines, which he tended as if he knew each vine by name. He accomplished this while having a 30-year career as a vehicle and heavy equipment fleet manager for the County of Sonoma. His passion was the earth, the vineyards, and his four vegetable gardens. He taught his sons early on how to hunt and fish and to respect the land and all it provided. In 1945, Joseph was drafted into the United States Army and served as a paratrooper and served in the Philippines and Japan. Following his term of duty, he married Wanda Bernice Pitts in 1952 and they had two sons, Joseph Dominic Martinelli, and Alex Scott Martinelli. Joseph and Wanda were married 57 years, until her death in 2009. He is survived by his two devoted sons, Joseph and Alex, his grandsons, Jason, Michael, Dominic, Andre and Nico, his great grandchildren, Sophia and Domingo, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, May 21st, at 10:00 a.m. at the Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery. All are welcome to attend. There will be a gathering immediately following the service; location will be announced at the service. For additional infor-mation, please call Joe at 707-217-6219.