[1] Eugene Melvin DONHAM was the oldest child Melvin and Rose (HEIM) DONHAM, born 25 April 1911. He did not graduate from high school, but instead lied about his age so as to begin working. He went to Nevada and worked on a ranch there for a few years before returning to Daly City and working at Langendorf Bakery (used to be known as Old California Bakery).
He married Emmarillis Pauline "Rill" GEHRINGER (b. 21 January 1912 Daly City, San Mateo County, CA) in Aug 1933 in Daly City, San Mateo County, CA. Gene and Rill had three children: Robert Eugene, Michael Joseph, and Dana Marie DONHAM.
About 1943/1944 Gene and his family moved to Petaluma and he joined to Petaluma Police Department for a few years. After that he worked for the Jamison Truck Lines, doing things like picking up / delivering milk.17 After that he went back to Langendorf Bakery. They moved back to Daly City in 1949 and lived at Woodrow Street, the house that Adolph GEHRINGER had built shortly after the 1906 earthquake. At the time of his death in 1958, Gene was living in Forestville, Sonoma, CA. He died in Sebastopol.
DESCENDENTS OF EUGENE MELVIN DONHAM & EMMARILLIS PAULINE GEHRINGER
1 - Eugene Melvin DONHAM
BORN: 25 Apr 1911 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
DIED: 26 Sep 1958 Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CA
sp- Emmarillis Pauline GEHRINGER
BORN: 21 Jan 1912 Daly City, San Mateo County, CA
MARR: Aug 1933 Daly City, San Mateo County, CA
DIED: 10 May 1993 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA
Dau of Adolph GEHRINGER & Gertrude BARNDT18
2 - Robert Eugene DONHAM
BORN: 27 Nov 1935 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
sp- Kathleen Ann WILLIAMS
BORN: 16 Oct 1940 Petaluma, Sonoma County, CA
MARR: 29 Aug 1959 Reno, Washoe County, NV
Dau of Wayne Elmo WILLIAMS & Marjorie Janice MCMILLAN
3 - Valerie Jo DONHAM
BORN: 21 Apr 1960 Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CA
sp- Howard Walter PAUL
BORN: San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
MARR: 28 Apr 1985 Douglas City, Trinity County, CA
4 - Konrad Joseph PAUL
BORN: 29 Oct 1985 Chico, Butte County, CA
4 - Allison Elizabeth PAUL
BORN: 2 Jun 1991 Chico, Butte County, CA
3 - Eugene Robert DONHAM
BORN: 29 Jul 1963 Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CA
2 - Michael Joseph DONHAM
BORN: 27 Aug 1939 Colma, San Mateo County, CA
OCC.: Used to work for Langendorf Bakery like his father did. Now
he is a service coordinator for Heidelberg printing press.
sp- Barbara Jean OHLENDORF
BORN: 6 Jun 1941 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
MARR: 14 Jun 1959 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
OCC.: Director of investor relations for Western Investment Real
Estate Trust
Dau of Elmer OHLENDORF & Anna McCULLOUGH
3 - Mark Steven DONHAM
BORN: 22 Nov 1961 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
OCC.:
sp- Shelly Lynn BRIGHT
BORN: 9 Sep 1961 CA
MARR: 25 Mar 1993 Westchester, Los Angeles County, CA
3 - Denise Lynn DONHAM
BORN: 22 Jun 1964 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
OCC.: Studying to be a dental assistant
sp- Alan Michael SOUZA
BORN: May 1963
MARR: divorced
4 - Eric Michael SOUZA
BORN: 5 Mar 1986 Lemoore, Kings County, CA
4 - Nicole Lynn SOUZA
BORN: 24 Mar 1988 Hanford, Kings County, CA
3 - Diane Michelle DONHAM
BORN: 6 Feb 1966 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
OCC.: Counting clerk for Del Taco in Southern California
2 - Dana Marie DONHAM
BORN: 7 Dec 1940 Colma, San Mateo County, CA
OCC.: Works for OCLI, an optical codeine lab.
sp- Jack Roland WATERS
BORN: 2 Sep 1936 Pueblo, CO
MARR: 21 Jan 1961 Reno, Washoe County, NV, divorced
3 - Robin Lee WATERS
BORN: 15 Jun 1962 Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CA
OCC.: Works for Harrah's Casino in Lake Tahoe
3 - Lori Marie WATERS
BORN: 1 May 1964 Petaluma, Sonoma County, CA
OCC.: Works for Alba Cosmetics firm in Santa Barbara, CA
sp- Paul O'FLAHRETY
MARR: divorced
4 - Abigail Catherine O'FLAHRETY
BORN: 27 Oct 1984 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA
[2] Roy Lee DONHAM, son of Melvin and Rose (HEIM) DONHAM, was born 2 July 1913. As a young man he went to work in San Francisco where he was a busboy for the well-known restaurant Bernstein's on Powell Street. The restaurant was a fish grotto, with the front built like a ship. Roy was a very good cook and started doing catering jobs.
On 12 Dec 1937 in Reno, Washoe County, NV, he married Patria LIPP (b. 13 December 1916 San Francisco, CA). They had three children Lee Ronald, Lynn Louise, and Dennis Roy DONHAM. Pat was very artistic and owned a ceramic shop.
About 1937 he became the first steward for Pan American Airlines. He traveled back and forth from California to the Orient on a plane that could also land on the water. When he landed in Manilla, Philippines, he visited his cousin Elizabeth LOCKWOOD.
He and Pat lived on Occidental Road in Santa Rosa. He commuted to South San Francisco to work for two weeks and then he had two weeks off. When he had a heart attack, they moved to Niagara Avenue, South San Francisco, and he started working instead behind the desk. He was the head steward and and was put in charge of hiring and training. Roy and Pat separated for three months about 1953 so Roy stayed with his sister Genevieve on Great Highway for three nights a week.
After working for Pan Am for 19½ years, Roy quit his job to operate his own business. He and Pat ran a small restaurant called Cal's Coffee Shop in the financial district of San Francisco, on California Street off of Market. Roy then used his Pan American pension money to open a larger restaurant in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CA. It was called Donham's Cafe, opened in 1959.
Roy was like a father to his niece Gail SUGGS after her own father died. When he stayed at their home he taught her how to cook many things such as pancakes and always called her "Stormy". He gave her away at her wedding to Tom TRIMBLE in 1977.
About 1978, Roy and Pat divorced. Pat remarried to Albert JENNINGS who died about 1989. Roy lived at a rest home in Windsor and developed Alzheimers. He was moved to Reno, Washoe County, NV, and died there on Wednesday 18 Dec 1991 at 1:30 p.m.
DESCENDENTS OF ROY LEE DONHAM & PATRIA LIPP
1 - Roy Lee DONHAM
BORN: 2 Jul 1913 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
DIED: 18 Dec 1991 Reno, Washoe County, NV
sp- Patria LIPP
BORN: 13 Dec 1916 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
MARR: 12 Dec 1937 Reno, Washoe County, NV, divorced
Dau of John Florian LIPP & Amelia THIEMAN
2 - Lee Ronald DONHAM
BORN: 4 Sep 1943 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
OCC.: Businessman for building materials. He was also a stunt
pilot in the 1995 HBO original movie The Tuskegee Airmen
sp- Dee LYONS
MARR: divorced
3 - Sheri DONHAM
BORN: 22 Oct 1964 Fort Campbell, KY
sp- Virginia HINDS
BORN: 18 Jun 1945 Oakland, Alameda County, CA
MARR: divorced
Dau of Jack HINDS & Edie COULTER
3 - Darren DONHAM
BORN: 6 Jun 1968 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA
3 - Ryan Lee DONHAM
BORN: 23 Jul 1973 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA
3 - Aimee Rachelle DONHAM
BORN: 24 Jan 1975 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA
sp- Sonjia Frances ARCHINKOFF
BORN: 27 Jun 1944 Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA
MARR: 1995
OCC.: CA sales rep for a Mississippi plastics and vinyl company
2 - Lynn Louise DONHAM
BORN: 26 Jun 1948 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
OCC.: Dental technician
sp- Ross RUSSELL
BORN: 8 Aug 1929 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
MARR: 1 Jul 1970 Denver, Denver County, CA
3 - Jon McLennon RUSSELL
BORN: 7 Aug 1971 Denver, Denver, CO
3 - Guy McCranor RUSSELL
BORN: 11 Mar 1973 Denver, Denver, CO
sp- Robert Eugene THAYER
BORN: 18 May 1959 The Dalles, OR
MARR: 19 Aug 1989 Sacremento, Sacramento County, CA
OCC.: Paramedic and fireman
2 - Dennis Roy DONHAM
BORN: 3 Jan 1946 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
sp- Margaret LANDER
BORN: 15 Dec 1945 Petaluma, Sonoma County, CA
MARR: 27 Nov 1965 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA, divorced
Dau of August LANDER & Eleanore BERGER
3 - Holly Christy DONHAM
BORN: 10 Nov 1969 Portland, OR
sp- Kevin WHITE
BORN: 1 Apr 1970 Reno, Washoe County, NV
MARR: 27 Mar 1993 Reno, Washoe County, NV
4 - Shelby WHITE
BORN: 23 Mar 1994 Sparks, Washoe County, NV
3 - Todd Michael DONHAM
BORN: 2 Nov 1972 Reno, Washoe County, NV
sp- Shari BRIDGES
BORN: 31 Mar 1948
[3] Virginia Hope DONHAM, daughter of Melvin and Rose (HEIM) DONHAM, was born 14 March 1917. Her best friend from Petaluma High School was Lee WEISS (now GOLDSTEIN) who remembered Virginia as a "charming young lady, a good student, sociable." She said that Virginia was well-liked and everybody loved her.
Virginia DONHAM was Miss Petaluma and then became Miss Sonoma County on 4 September 1933. On 30 Jun 1935 in Santa Cruz, CA, she was awarded the title of Miss California. She was 1935's First Runner-Up (second place) for Miss America, with the first place award for evening dress (awarded at Atlantic City, New Jersey). She also won a Catalina Personality Contest and became Miss Catalina.
In 1935 Virginia and her brother Roy were living with their grandmother Josephine (LORANG) HEIM in Daly City, San Mateo County, CA. To compete in the Miss America pageant, Virginia was sponsored by a Mrs. COHEN who owned San Francisco's United Artist Theater where Ginny worked as the head usherette. In 1935 Ginny went east to Atlantic City and won second place for Miss America, losing to Miss New York. Apparently, there was an upset among the sponsors who thought the judging had been rigged and that Miss California, Virginia DONHAM, should have won instead. They threatened to pull out and tear up all the papers, but nothing ever happened.
When she returned to San Francisco she was offered a film screening and movie career in Hollywood, but she turned them down because she was in love with Mervyn CHIOINO. She and Mervyn Clement CHIOINO were married on 22 September 1936 in Sacramento, CA. Mervyn later became a sergeant in the San Francisco Police Department. They had two children: Craig Clement and Jill Caroline CHIOINO.
Mervyn was born 19 Apr 1916 in San Francisco, CA, the son of Andrew "Mike" CHIOINO and Emma SIMMONS. Andrew was born 21 Apr 1888 in San Francisco, son of Italian immigrants Giovanni Batista CHIOINO (b. 13 May 1859 Genoa, Italy; d. 1912 San Francisco, CA) and Rosa GARBIANO (b. 27 Jan 1865 Genoa, Italy; d. 1932 San Francisco, CA). Rosa, daughter of Andrea GARBIANO, is said to have each day walked past the old home of Christopher COLUMBUS on her way to work at a hotel in Genoa. Emma SIMMONS (1889-1926), wife of Andrew CHIOINO, was the daughter of Theodore SIEMONS (of the North Friesian Islands, Denmark) and Mary Ann FLYNN (of Melbourne, Australia).
Mervyn and Ginny made money by buying inexpensive homes, fixing them up, and selling them for a profit. They lived at 32nd Avenue, Juanita Way, and later at Ellington where she cared for her father and mother. After the deaths of Ginny's parents, she and Mervyn moved to Marin County where she started her own business, the Blue Bird of Happiness, which did nice things for elderly people such as taking them for rides and trips. The following newspaper clipping, with the headline "Blue Bird Of Hapiness Agency To Help Elderly On Excursions, written by Harry CRAFT, was probably from the Marin Independent Journal:
"Beauty is as beauty does," is the old saying, and the former Miss California of 1935, now a resident of San Rafael, has a worthwhile idea for a new business she describes as the Blue Bird of Hapiness Agency for brightening the daylight hours of the aged.
Mrs. Virginia CHIOINO (pronounced "queeno"), who still retains those qualities of beauty and personality that brought her the state title when she was Virginia DONOHAM (sic), proposes to introduce a service of providing short automobile trips, shopping excursions and compansionship for elderly people. "Apparently there is no such service in the county," she says, "and I think there is a definite need for it, employing people with compassion and experience in this field."
Mrs. CHIOINO has had the experience, having previously worked with the aged at Laguna Honda in San Francisco and in local hospitals.
She had husband Mervyn, a San Francisco police sergeant, and daughter Jill, had lived in San Rafael for the past three years. Her son Craig is married and living in Mill Valley.
So far, Blue Bird of Hapiness is still headquartered at her home at 50 Sonoma Street, San Rafael. Where is goes from there depends on the initial response, and she'll probably need a staff of one or more to help her.
The Blue Bird of Hapiness did not last too long. She got a job at the Tamalpais Retirement Home in Greenbrae as the social director. In Marin County, they lived on Sonoma Street in San Rafael (Canal), Rock Garden Avenue in San Anselmo (Sleepy Hollow), and Wood Oaks in San Rafael (Santa Venetia). Around 1991 they moved to Sonora, Tuolumne County. Virginia had always been a very talented artist also and she did many great paintings.
Virginia died on 15 April 1995 at a convalescent home in Concord, Contra Costa County, CA, of complications from a heart attack and lung cancer. She was buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery, Sonora, Tuolumne County, CA. Her obituary appeared in the Marin Independent Journal (San Rafael, CA) on page B2, 19 April 1995:
In Concord, April 15, 1995, Virginia H. CHIOINO, wife of Mervyn of Sonora, mother of Jill CHIOINO of Martinez, Craig CHIOINO of Washington, D.C., sister of Genevieve SUGGS of Marin, grandmother of Aaron CHIOINO of Marin, Colleen CHIOINO of Berkeley, and Rachel CHIOINO of Boston. A resident of Sonora for three years. Program and Sales Director for Tamalpais Retirement Home in Marin County for 10 years. A former winner of Miss California Beauty Contest and Miss America Beauty Pageant, winning 1st place in evening gown competition. A member of Figli d'Italia and the San Franciscans (women's club in San Francisco). Donations to VNA / Hospice, P.O. Box 4086, Sonora 95370. Private family services Thursday at Terzich & Wilson Funeral Home, Sonora, Calif. Burial St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery.
DESCENDENTS OF MERVYN CLEMENT CHIOINO & VIRGINIA HOPE DONHAM
1 - Virginia Hope DONHAM
BORN: 14 Mar 1917 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
DIED: 15 Apr 1995 Concord, Contra Costa County, CA
BUR.: 20 Apr 1995 St Patrick's Cem, Tuolumne County, CA
sp- Mervyn Clement CHIOINO
BORN: 19 Apr 1916 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
MARR: 22 Sep 1936 Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA
Son of Andrew "Mike" CHIOINO & Emma SIMMONS
2 - Craig Clement CHIOINO
BORN: 12 Mar 1937 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
sp- Bridget Mary "Maureen" NYLAND
BORN: 8 Jun 1942 Belfast, County Antrim, IREL
MARR: 29 Jan 1965 San Rafael, Marin County, CA, divorced
Dau of Michael NILAND & Teresa O'HARA
3 - Colleen Gelsomina Teresa CHIOINO (formerly Colleen Teresa CHIOINO)
BORN: 5 May 1966 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
3 - Aaron Michael CHIOINO
BORN: 13 Sep 1967 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
3 - Rachel Aisling CHIOINO
BORN: 4 Nov 1969 Greenbrae, Marin County, CA
sp- Stephen CRAMPTON
MARR: 2000 , , MA
sp- Mrs. Joan D. KOSS
BORN: 7 Aug 1935 Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
MARR: 3 Apr 1982 Point Arena, CA
2 - Jill Caroline CHIOINO
BORN: 19 Apr 1949 San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
Craig Clement CHIOINO graduted from St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, San Luis Obispo College, and he got his masters in computer science from U.C. Berkeley. In 1962 he started working in the computer field: for an insurance company, a railroad company, and then his own business (Chioino & Myers). In 1972 he was involved in operations research / industrial engineering. In 1989 he got his veterinary degree and in 1990 he got his masters in public heatlh. Currently he is a veterinary medical officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture who, as per the NAFTA agreement, assesses the risks in importing animals. He also is a university professor in Arizona.
Craig married Maureen NYLAND in 1965 and had children Colleen Gelsomina, Aaron, and Rachel CHIOINO. They divorced in July 1976 and Maureen remarried on 15 Dec 1978 to Jack NULL. They had two children Michael Robert NULL (b. 17 Apr 1980 in San Francisco, CA) and Elissa Roisin NULL (b. 26 Aug 1984 in Vallejo, Solano County, CA). Maureen is retired from Pacific Bell and Jack is a computers consultant. Craig has also been remarried, to Mrs. Joan D. KOSS, an anthropology professor at Arizona State University.
Gelsomina Colleen CHIOINO graduated from U.C. San Diego in 1989 and became a florist. She did the floral arrangements for the first Special Olympics and also the Tour de France in Dublin, Ireland. This year In 1995 she returned from an 18-month around-the-world tour and now resides in Berkeley Oakland, CA.
Aaron CHIOINO graduated from Terra Linda High School and then went to Santa Rosa Junior College and Solano Junior College. He graduated from the Musician's Institute in Hollywood in 1990, playing the electric guitar. He then went into the army for two years. In 1995 he works at Clean Well-Lighted Place For Books in Larkspur and lives in Terra Linda. He also plays in some bands once in awhile.
Rachel CHIOINO graduated from the American University in 1991, majoring in international relations and economics. She was in a school-work program where she worked for the executive committee under President George BUSH. She then worked for an M.P. (member of parliament) in London and then went back to Washington D.C. where she worked for a private consulting firm. In 1995 she moved to Boston, MA, where she is an analyst for the city planning department. In 2000, she got married....
Jill CHIOINO, daughter of Mervyn and Virginia (DONHAM) CHIOINO graduated from San Rafael High School and U.C. Santa Barbara. She works in the insurance business. On 12 September 1996 she married John Wha CHOE, son of Kwanho CHOE and Jungmin LEE of North Korea. John was previously married to Kyungja LEE and had two children: John Gene CHOE and Richard Young CHOE.
