Alvin Joseph Lombella

Alvin Joseph Lombella passed peacefully, with family by his side, on Sunday, February 23, 2020, a few months before his 93rd birthday.

Born April 16, 1927 in Bodega Bay CA, the second of seven children of John Lombella (originally from Rasura, Italy) and Rina (Del Curto) Lombella (originally from Gualala, California).

As a child growing up and working on the family’s oceanside dairy, he was instilled with a love of animals and Bodega Bay as well as a strong work ethic.

Al attended Ocean View School, a one-room schoolhouse right on the sand at what is known now as Wright’s Beach, where he also learned English.  One of his fondest childhood memories was attending the 1939 World’s Fair in San Francisco with his teacher Miss Elizabeth Lonkey and his classmates.

Unfortunately, Al contracted tuberculosis as a young teenager and spent two years recovering at the Oak Knoll Sanitarium in Santa Rosa.  He recently mentioned he outlived all of his friends there.

His first job in 1947 was at the Valley Ford Creamery which enabled him to make many life-long friends with local dairy owners.

In 1950, he moved to Santa Rosa to work as an equipment mechanic for Stevenson Equipment Company.  He delivered equipment to areas where most “could not pull a string” and put to use his ingenuity, strength and talent to fix tractors that broke down in the most inconvenient places, much to the amazement of the ranch owners.

He married Rose Alice Lepori in 1955.  Al would say they met on a merry-go-round and have been going around ever since.  Al became a favorite and valuable fixture at the Lepori ranch in Bloomfield helping with chores and fixing anything that needed repair.  Al passed away just three weeks shy of their 65th anniversary.

Al and Alice had two beautiful daughters (Sandra and Gloria) that he adored.  He built them mini-bikes, go carts, skateboards and even stilts.  He made lots of posters and signs for their school events, many times staying up past his bedtime to finish.  He made exact replicas of life size crayons for SRHS character day and a giant fly swatter to swat the Vikings for SRHS parade.  He enjoyed working with them on woodworking and other creative projects.  He instilled on them his creativity, sense of humor and love of the ocean.

Evenings and weekends were always busy for Al.  Once dinner was finished, he would work in the yard or in the garage, often on projects for others.  On many Fridays, the trailer would be ready to head out to Bodega Bay, Gualala, Anchor Bay or Dillon Beach for clam digging.

Annual family vacations were also in the trailer, visiting beautiful places and making friends.

Al retired in 1989, after 25 years as a mechanic for the SRJC where he impressed many co-workers with his creative approaches to problem solving.

In his 31 years of retirement, he enjoyed perfecting his immaculate home, garage and yard; metal detecting with his daughter Gloria; camping with his grandchildren and helping family and friends with all kinds of projects.  He particularly enjoyed projects on the Lepori and Tremari ranches.  He had many friends and enjoyed sharing stories of the past.  He never lost his sense of humor and shared it with everyone, often much to their surprise.

Al leaves behind his lovely wife Rose Alice; daughters Sandra (Garth) Adams and Gloria (John) Buckner; grandchildren Chad (Ashleigh) Adams and Jessica Adams; great grandchildren Paisley and Carson; siblings Marie Hansen, Lila Linnehan and Donald Lombella and numerous favorite nieces and nephews.  Preceded in death by sister Velma Martinoni and brothers Ernest and Clarence.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank their wonderful neighbor Jenny for her physical and emotional support of Al and his family.  We could not have done it without you Jenny!

And of course, our heartful thanks to St. Joseph Hospice, especially Cera.  Words cannot express the love and support you provided.

Services will be announced in the Spring.  Remembrances to St Joseph Hospice 439 College Ave., SR, CA 95401 www.stjosephhealth.org or Tomales Regional Historical center www.tomaleshistory.com.