Fay Sommerfeldt's Obituary
Fay Sommerfeldt, 91, peacefully passed away on the evening of Sunday, November 6, 2011. Always the life of the party, her presence continued to brighten up the room until the last few minutes of her life. In her home shared with her daughter and family in San Bruno, Fay had just greeted guests and wished them a blessed Holiday Season, before retiring to her bedroom where she sat down and quietly fell asleep in this world to wake up in another only five minutes later. Fay´s life was one of extraordinary kindness and perseverance. Born on October 9, 1920, in Napa, CA, she was the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Read Holden and Philip Holden. Having grown up in Napa and Marin County, she was a true Californian native who was always up for a car ride to the Coast. In the same year that she graduated from Mt. Tamalpias High School, Class of 1939, her father passed and she moved to San Francisco with her mother. Soon after, she met Norbert Sommerfeldt who courted her throughout World War II when his ship was ported in San Francisco. After the war, the two were married in San Francisco on October 20, 1945, and shortly after moved to San Bruno where they raised two children, Harold and Pamela. Fay remained a homemaker until her husband´s death in 1992. One of the many examples of Fay´s determination was when her spine collapsed and was told in 2002 that she might never walk again. By 2003, she was up and walking. Up until her last week, she remained an active member of the San Bruno Senior Center, attending two to three times per week to play card games and to socialize with her friends. She was also a member of the Calvary Lutheran Church in San Bruno. An avid fan of the San Francisco Giant´s, Fay faithfully watched or listened to every single game and proudly watched them win the World Series in 2010. Usually with a game on, she could always be found in her armchair crocheting baby blankets for a friend or relative´s new baby. Fay is survived by her children and their spouses, Harold and Jamie Sommerfeldt, Pamela and Patrick Hunt, and by her three grandchildren, Hilary Letwin, Allegra Williams, and Beatrice Hunt. They are comforted by their memories of her constant sunny disposition and signature laughter. In Fay´s words, 'See you in my dreams.'
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