A casual viewing and interment are planned Monday, June 25, in Santa Cruz for Scotts Valley resident Frances “Fran” Bergholz, 76, who died quietly June 15 following four years of dementia-related illness.
Mrs. Bergholz was born to an Italian father and an English mother and raised in Visalia, where she helped her father run a fruit and vegetable stand.
She met her future husband, Ferd Bergholz, while bowling in the Santa Cruz Match Club. The couple bowled throughout California and Nevada.
Mrs. Bergholz retired after working nearly 20 years for JC Penney Co., and after retiring, she volunteered at the Scotts Valley Senior Center in the boutique and kitchen.
The couple visited Italy, her favorite country, frequently. They also enjoyed traveling to Hawaii. They took trips to Disneyland and Disneyworld and visited Euro Disneyland in Paris the year it opened.
Mrs. Bergholz is survived by her husband of more than 33 years, Ferd Bergholz of Scotts Valley; two sons, Mike Gardner, and his partner, Chris Rapp, of San Diego and Tom Messner in Germany; a stepson, Ferd Gannon Jr., and his wife, Karen, of Oregon; two brothers, Tony Cortese and Sil Shumbat and their wives in Colorado; four grandchildren; and many other relatives.
A casual viewing and interment will be from noon to 1 p.m. Monday at Santa Cruz Memorial Chapel, 1927 Ocean St., in Santa Cruz. An online memorial is available at www.scmemorial.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations in Mrs. Bergholz’s name to either Scotts Valley Senior Center, 370 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95066; or Heartland Home Health Care and Hospice, 824 Bay Ave., No. 40, Capitola, CA 95010.
