diáspora y cultura vasca
05/04/2019 - Winnemucca, EEUU
(Publicado en Sonoma Funeral Home de Winnemucca, NV)
Carla Marie Cecchi-Salla passed away at the age of 76 on April 5, 2019.
Carla was born in Lucca, Italy on May 2, 1942 to Mario and Ida Cecchi. At the age of 8, Carla immigrated to the United States taking her first American steps on the shores of Ellis Island. Her family quickly found their way to Winnemucca, Nevada and Carla began her greatest adventure.
She attended school at Winnemucca Grammar School and graduated from Humboldt High school in 1959. She was an exceptional student and attended Sacramento Business College where she received her associate’s degree in business. During her adolescent and teenage years Carla kept herself busy helping her parents run the Shone House boarding house making sure it was clean and presentable. Carla found her way back to Winnemucca where she worked for a brief time for the Unemployment office.
She married Pete Salla on October 5, 1963. Together they had three children, Marie-Jeanne, Jean-Pierre, and Pauline. Her children were the loves of her life. Carla spent the early years of her marriage taking care of her family as well as helping run the family plumbing business.
In 1978, Carla went to work as an aide at Winnemucca Grammar School. This began her long love affair with the Humboldt County School District.
Carla loved working at Winnemucca Grammar School, but soon she would be asked to open a new elementary school and serve as the first administrative secretary at Grass Valley Elementary. Carla found her niche and passion within those walls.
For 30 years, Carla was not only the secretary, but she was the cook, the nurse, the custodian, the librarian, the counselor, and at times the principal. It was Carla’s expert knowledge of her job that made life easier for her students, teachers and administrators. She was also instrumental in training other would-be secretaries within the district. Carla loved, loved, loved Grass Valley Elementary and was a life-long Grass Valley Tiger.
For 35 years, Carla was a mainstay of Humboldt County School District and retired in 2014.
Carla’s life was a simple life. She believed in hard work and family. She instilled these important values to her children and grandchildren. Carla knew the importance of family. She lived it and breathed it. Family dinners were important to Carla and hundreds were had at her table – a table of love. She loved to cook and enjoyed, more so, watching people enjoy her ambrosial cuisine. She enjoyed being outside and loved the summer months working with her flowers.
Carla loved her friends deeply and enjoyed traveling, swimming and visiting with them. During the school year, Carla kept busy attending her grandsons’ athletic events providing their very own personal cheering section.
Carla was a member of Saint Paul’s Catholic Church, Saint Paul’s Altar Society and served as a CCD teacher. Her love of faith and her devotion to it were paramount in her life. Carla is preceded in death by her mothers, Ada Cecchi, and Ida Cecchi, her father, Mario Cecchi, and infant brother, Pierre Luigi. She is survived by her sister Giuliana (Eugenio) Bernardi, her children, Marie-Jeanne (Jeff) Dawson, Pauline (Alan) Smith, as well as her son, Jean-Pierre; grandsons, Christian, Graitian, Raistlin, and Jericho, niece: Sabrina (Kelly) Novi, nephew Luca (Hayley) Bernardi, great nieces Tea, Alea and Nadia Novi, Cousins Lorraine Giurlani and Yvonne (Pete) Paris and numerous nieces and nephews in the old country.
Services will be Saturday, April 27 at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church. A rosary will be held at 10:30 with a mass directly following at 11:00. The family would like to thank the staff of Harmony Manor, Guiding Light Hospice, especially Cede and Thea, Meals on Wheels and the “Friends of Carla” without whom we could have never lasted so long.
Carla will forever be remembered for her kind, loyal, supportive and dedicated nature as well as her devoted and unconditional love to her family.
We find solace in the words of Washington Irvine: “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.”
We love you Momma. In honor of Carla, please make a donation to Caring Angels, 1250 Lamoille Hwy #309, Elko, Nevada 89801.
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