Anton (Tony) Kamby Sr., 95 years old, passed away peacefully in Sonoma on Sept. 5, 2008. He was born on Jan. 20, 1913 in Austria, now Slovenia, and moved to America in 1937. He lived in various western states prior to the war. During World War II he proudly served as a Warrant Officer. After the war, he married Marjorie and they settled in San Francisco, where they raised their two children. He and Marjorie retired to the house they built in Sonoma. Tony loved talking politics, tending his vegetable garden and fruit trees, making wine and sitting under his walnut tree. He always had wonderful stories about his many adventures, which delighted and enthralled his many family members – as did the $20 bills he secretly passed to all the kids in the family.
Tony leaves behind his wife of 62 years; his son, Tony Jr. and his wife Joan; his daughter Marjorie Cordova; grandchildren John Cordova and Carolyn Kamby; sister, Ana Dusak; nephew, Franc Dusak, his wife, Kathy and their children Franci, Andrew and Ani; plus many nieces and nephews both here and in Slovenia. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Mary and Frances, his brother, Matt and granddaughter, Lisa Kamby.
Friends and relatives are invited to a memorial service in celebration of his life on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 11 a.m. at St. Leo’s Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to your favorite charity.
Mary Ellen Leyva died quietly at her home in Sonoma on Sept. 9, 2008. She is survived by her husband Frank, with whom she celebrated 50 years of marriage on Aug. 9. She was the daughter of Grace and James B. Pert of Bronxville, N.Y., both of whom preceded her in death.
She is also survived by her children: Michael, of Berlin; Malena, of San Francisco; and John, of Davis; her sister, Catherine Foley, of Denver; her nieces and nephews, Kathleen McGrath of Long Island, Brian and Daniel Foley of Denver, and Terrence Foley of Salinas. Her stepsons are Mark and Clark Leyva of Sonora and San Jose, respectively. She has two little grandsons who were the light of her life: Ximenez Leyva of Davis and Frankie Alioto of San Francisco.
Mary Ellen was born in Bronxville, N.Y., on Oct. 20, 1932. She became a devout Francophile as a ninth grader and majored in English and French at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. She was competitive in tennis and skiing.
With her degree and teaching credential in hand, she came west for better pay and better skiing. She stopped at Sacramento, where she met Frank, a U.S. Secret Service agent, who married and took her for a six-year stint in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she taught English at a private school. Frank’s job moved them about frequently, so she became mostly a stay-at-home mom with brief teaching stints in San Antonio, Texas and Louisville, Ky., along with four years in Paris, France, where again she taught at a private school.
They retired to Sonoma in 1976, but took other jobs until they celebrated final retirement in 1985 with a three-month tour of Europe. They then acquired a fifth-wheel trailer, and for 17 years traveled North America from Belize in the south to Alaska in the north and all the 48 states, crossing the continent numerous times. The adventure was in the journey, but she did have favorite destinations: the St. Lawrence River country and the southwestern hills of Sonora, Mexico. She loved driving her big Ford diesel. In between there were trips to Europe, South America and lands down under. She abhorred large cruise ships.
Mary Ellen devoured novels of adventure, mystery, and intrigue, and belonged to a French reading and conversation group. When she discovered golf she formed a close bond with The Sonoma Swingers. She had a long affiliation with AAUW.
Friends are invited to attend a funeral Mass on Friday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. at St. Francis Solano Church, West Napa Street and 3rd Street West, Sonoma. Interment to follow at Valley Cemetery, Sonoma. Donations may be made in Mary Ellen’s name to Hospice by the Bay, 190 W. Napa St., Sonoma, CA 95476. Arrangements under the direction of Duggan’s Mission Chapel, 525 W. Napa St., Sonoma.
