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Robert Smart
Funeral services will be held Friday, Aug. 29, for Robert S. Smart of Elk Grove who died Aug. 20, 2003, of complications from cancer.
Mr. Smart was a drama professor at California State University, Sacramento, for more than 40 years, and worked at the Music Circus (now California Musical Theater).
He was born July 1, 1935, in Sacramento where he grew up. He moved to Elk Grove in 1979.
Mr. Smart was preceded in death by his wife, Karen.
He is survived by his daughters, Kori Harris and husband David of Galt and Kara VanLindt and husband Todd of Elk Grove along with his dog Duncan; and his grandchildren, Kaila, Rachel, Joshua, Kyle and Kacee.
Mr. Smart was the son of Max and Maurine Smart of Fair Oaks, and the brother of Ronald, Richard, Gerald, Clifford and Douglas.
Visitation is today (Wednesday) and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. in Elk Grove Funeral Chapel, 9101 Elk Grove Blvd.
Friday's services begin at 11 a.m. in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 8925 Vintage Park Drive. Interment will follow in Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
Remembrances may be made toward the purchase of a memorial seat at the Music Circus. A trust fund has been set up at Farmers and Merchants Bank in Kori and Kara's names and checks may be sent to the Robert Smart Trust Fund, P.O. Box 908, Galt, CA 95632.
Lonnie Gahart
Lonnie Dell Gahart, a former resident of Elk Grove and then of Menan, Idaho, died Sept. 7, 2005 in Idaho Falls.
Mr. Gahart married Vaunda Rae Wilson July 31, 1969 in Elk Grove, and worked for Citizens Utilities here as a lineman and splicer supervisor.
He was born May 19, 1935 in Yoder, Colo., to Adolf and Myrtle Marie Bear Gahart, and attended schools in Exeter, Calif. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean conflict and in Japan.
Mr. Gahart was a member of Cal-Sider Side Band CB Club, NRA, IBEW Union and Telephone Employees Association. Interests included ham radio, CB radio, fishing, hunting and yard work.
He was preceded in death by his son Darrin Collier, granddaughter Tyler Lynn Collier and brother Gary Gahart.
Mr. Gahart is survived by his wife Vaunda of Menan, daughters Rhonda Rae Terry and husband Ron of Fallon, Nev., RaLyn McCoy and husband David of Sacramento and Ellowin Gahart of California; sons Randy J. Collier and wife Ann of Sacramento, John Kirk Collier and wife Diane of Menan and Claude Gahart of California; nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
He was the brother of Bill Gahart and wife Betty of Napa.
Memorial services will be Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. in his backyard, 634 North 3565 East, Menan. Condolences to the the family may be made at eckersellfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are by Eckersell Funeral Home, Rigby, Idaho.
Betty Bennett
Graveside services will be held Monday, Sept. 19 for Betty Rose Bennett, a 46-year resident of Elk Grove who died Sept. 10, 2005 at the age of 88.
Mrs. Bennett was born June 24, 1917 in Waldenburg, Ark. to Pres and Esther Smith Finley. She grew up in Arkansas, then moved to Modesto where she met and married John Bennett.
She moved to Elk Grove in 1959 and worked as a clerk for Aerojet until the company closed. She then went to work for Blue Diamond Almond Growers as a clerk, staying there until she retired.
Mrs. Bennett was known as an accomplished seamstress. Other interests included gardening and traveling to visit her family.
She was preceded in death by her brother, John Cornelius Finley.
Mrs. Bennett is survived by her children, Janet Westbrook and husband Harold and Dorothy Weichart all of Washington, and John E. Bennett and wife Cheryl of Wilton; grandchildren Hal, Steve, Stacey, Donald and Wayne; four great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
She was the sister of Rachel Johnson of Modesto, Esther Stipanuk and Hilda Hastings of Arkansas, and Dorothy Jeffcott and husband Robert of Utah.
Visitation will be Sunday, Sept. 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. at South East Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary, 9189 East Stockton Blvd., Elk Grove. Monday’s services begin at 11 a.m. at the same location.
Kaitlyne Mantz
Funeral services took place on Thursday, Nov. 17 for Kaitlyne Maree Mantz, eighth-grade student at Joseph Kerr Middle School, who died Nov. 9, 2005 after a short battle with leukemia.
Kaitlyne was born Jan. 1, 1992 and was a lifelong resident of Elk Grove, attending James McKee Elementary School before going to Kerr.
She was a member of the Kerr band where she played the bells.
“She loved dolphins and always had a smile and a hello for all,” her mother said. “She touched so many lives.”
Kaitlyne is survived by her parents Peggy Shelly and Mark Mantz; brother Michael Shelly-Rogers and sisters Heather and Jessica Mantz all of Elk Grove; grandparents Charles Ward of Dos Palos and Jake and Lucille Mantz of Sacramento; great-grandmother Midge Waddell of Sacramento and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Pastor Mark Gunter of Harvest Church officiated at the services which were at South East Lawn Mortuary, 9189 East Stockton Blvd., Elk Grove.
Visitation is at www.carepages.com. Click on KaitlynesPage to view pictures and read messages.
Remembrances may be made to the Child Life Program at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento.
Carl Amundson
Carl Amundson, a 58-year resident of Elk Grove and a legend in his own time, died April 28, 2006 following a long illness.
Mr. Amundson was one of the major forces behind the relocation and restoration of the Rhoads School from Sloughhouse to its present site in Elk Grove Regional Park. This was the 1976 bicentennial project for the Elk Grove community, and Mr. Amundson was one of the first presidents of the Elk Grove Historical Society which was the offspring of the Bicentennial Committee.
He was also the original project director for the reconstruction of the Elk Grove Hotel & Stage Stop Museum in Elk Grove Park.
Carl Parnell Amundson Jr. was born on May 15, 1924 in Pasadena where his father, a veteran of World War I, owned and operated a barber shop and his mother was a nurse. The family moved to Sacramento where he attended school, graduating from Grant Union High.
He volunteered for military service during World War II, following which the family moved to Fair Oaks. There he met Joyce Bonnie Reichelt, and the two were married in Roseville on Nov. 22, 1946.
They moved to Elk Grove in 1948 and settled on a dairy farm on Short Road, just off Calvine Road. In addition to milking cows, Mr. Amundson opened the first movie theater in Elk Grove, the Cow Palace on Webb Street. He later built the Boulevard Theater on the corner of Elk Grove Boulevard and Williamson Drive and he and Joyce operated it from 1955 to 1959.
Mr. Amundson worked as an electronic technician and later as technical liaison representative for the Sacramento Army Depot until retirement in 1973.
“Retirement” was not a word in his vocabulary as he plunged headlong into local history and community projects, including countless hours and years in incorporation efforts for the city of Elk Grove.
He was a member of many organizations and was president of most of them: Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Elk Grove, Sacramento Exchange Club, Towe Automobile Association, Sacramento Council of Navy League, Tokay Colony Homeowners Association, Associate Director of Hays Antique Truck Museum, Director of Greater Sheldon Hills Homeowners Association, Old Town Merchants Association, Cosumnes River College Foundation Board of Directors, secretary of the Sacramento chapter of California Special Districts Association, Florin Resource Conservation Board of Directors and Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Commission.
Besides the Elk Grove Historical Society, Mr. Amundson was a member of the historical societies in Galt, Florin and Isleton.
He was the recipient of many awards and honors: Presidential Citation 1945 Saipan; All Pacific Army Citation; Commendation, Army Desert Strike; honorary Brigadier General-in-Chief, California National Guard, and commendations for special service in 1968 and 1970 for assignment in Korea and Vietnam.
Local commendations included from Supervisor Henry Kloss for his work on the Rhoads School in 1977, and from the entire Board of Supervisors for his work on the Elk Grove Hotel in 1995; from CRC President Dr. Merrilee Lewis for founding member and distinguished service on the Foundation Board; and from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.
In 1979 Elk Grove named him as its Citizen of the Year.
Mr. Amundson is survived by his wife Joyce Amundson of Elk Grove; and children Bonnie Lee Smedberg and husband Ken of Pollock Pines, Carl Parnell Amundson III and wife Katherine of Bellevue, Wash., and Charlene Patricia Colton and husband Jon of Elk Grove.
He is also survived by grandchildren Eric Smedberg and wife Jenny, Nicole Plaza and husband Tim, Darin Smedberg, Joyce Hilma Colton House and husband Kurt, Benjamin Rowland Colton, Nathan and Nova Sweet, Christopher Colton and wife Ladonna and Kelly Lavino and husband John; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Services are pending at Elk Grove Funeral Chapel. Remembrances may be made to the Elk Grove Historical Society, P.O. Box 562, Elk Grove, CA 95759 or a charity of the donor’s choice.
Carl Amundson
Funeral services will take place Tuesday, May 30 for Carl P. Amundson Jr., a 58-year resident of Elk Grove who died April 28, 2006.
He is survived by his wife Joyce of Elk Grove, three children, nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be Monday, May 29 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Elk Grove Funeral Chapel, 9101 Elk Grove Blvd.
Tuesday’s services begin at 11 a.m. in the First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, 8939 East Stockton Blvd.
Remembrances may be made to the Elk Grove Historical Society, P.O. Box 562, Elk Grove, CA 95759.
