In Memoriam

This is a celebration of the lives of 3 remarkable Coronado family members.  They enriched not only our family but the lives of those around them.  I miss them all.

Harrison McIntosh

In an earlier posting I reported on my cousin Harrison McIntosh, an internationally known ceramicist, who celebrated his 100^th Birthday in September 2014.  We visited him, his wife Marguerite, and his daughter, Catherine, and her family in Claremont, California in October 2014.  We had a wonderful time – it was like a mini family-reunion.  Harrison was in great spirits, clearly remembered a lot of family stories, and enjoyed discussing the details of making ceramics with my son, David.

Harrison died of natural causes on January 21, 2016 in Claremont at the age of 101.

He was born in Vallejo, California, on September 11, 1914.  While in high school in Stockton, California, Harrison and his brother, Robert, developed an interest in art – Robert enjoyed drawing and painting, while Harrison pursued sculpture.  After the McIntosh family moved to Los Angeles in 1937, Harrison set up a studio in his parent’s garage and took ceramics classes beginning in 1940.

HARRISON MCINTOSH
September 11, 1914 - January 21, 2016

Harrison’s education and training was interrupted when he was drafted in 1944.  Around the same time, Harrison’s first wife fell ill and died.

After he was discharged from the Army, Harrison used the G.I. Bill to gain admission as a special student to study ceramics at the Claremont Graduate School.  He met a French student, Marguerite Loyau, while studying at Claremont and they were married in 1952.  In 1958, they built a home in Padua Hills, nestled in the foothills above Claremont, with a pottery studio where Harrison would work for the next 50 years.

Harrison’s work is represented in more than 40 museum collections worldwide and his pieces have been featured in 70 publications.[1]

Betty Orsi

The wife of my cousin and godfather Paul Orsi, Betty Greeott Orsi died peacefully in the presence of her family on October 24, 2015 in Ukiah, California.  She was 83 years old.

BETTY GREEOTT ORSI
April 16, 1932 - October 24, 2015

Betty was born 16 April 1932 in Santa Rosa, California, but grew up in Ukiah, California.  It was in Ukiah that she and Paul met and were married in 1953.  I attended the wedding as a youngster and remember how beautiful Betty was and how Paul was so handsome.  Betty and Paul ran Paul’s Grocery Store in Ukiah.  Later she became Director of Medical Records at Hillside Hospital, now Ukiah Valley Medical Center.  She was actively involved with St. Mary’s of the Angel Catholic Church as organist and, eventually music director.

Betty is survived by her husband of 62 years, Paul; her five children, Janet Orsi, James Orsi, John Orsi, Julie Orsi Rus, Jeffrey Orsi; and 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.[2]

Sister Catherine Pelletier

I was recently informed[3] that my godmother, Sister Catherine Pelletier, had passed away on 6 June 2016 at Mercy Retirement and Care Center in Oakland, California at the age of 93.  She was born 2 March 1923 in Fresno, one of seven children.  Catherine grew up in Oakland.  She attended Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, and entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in 1943.[4]

SISTER CATHERINE PELLETIER
March 2, 1923 - June 6, 2016

Not only was Sister Catherine my godmother, but my mother was her godmother.  It must have been fate that brought Catherine into the Coronado clan, for her mother walked up to my mother, Cecelia Coronado, in church and asked her – a total stranger – to stand in as the godmother for Catherine’s baptism.  Our lives were intertwined ever since.

Catherine was a Sister of Notre Dame for 73 years.  She taught at several elementary schools for thirty years and after earning a master of library studies degree, served as librarian for Notre Dame High School in San Jose, California, and as librarian for the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California.[5]  I remember visiting Sister Catherine many times over the years and she was always so wonderful to be around.  She attended two of our son’s weddings, one in California and one on the East Coast.

Our world is richer for their lives and poorer with their deaths.

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[1] American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), 21 Jan 2016, press release; Suzanne Muchnic, Harrison McIntosh, Southland artist who pushed ceramics’ boundaries, dies at 101, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2016, online obituary.

[2] Funeral memorial booklet for Betty Orsi funeral services, 3 Nov 2015.

[3] Letter from Mary Anne Pelletier Moore, 1 Aug 2016, sister of Sister Catherine Pelletier.

[4] San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Jun 2016, online obituary.

[5] Ibid.