Evelyn Ganos Passes At Age 97

Evelyn Eugenia (Rose) Ganos, 97, passed away peacefully on December 11, 2016.  Evelyn was born on January 13, 1919 in Santa Rosa, California.  She was the daughter of John Joseph Rose and Alexine Clara Elizabeth Lagier.  

Eve grew up in the gas-lit house her father built on the family’s farm.  She attended the Todd Elementary School and enjoyed seeing old friends all the way through their 75th class reunion. Eve graduated from Santa Rosa High School and entered cosmetology school.  After receiving her license in 1939, she moved to San Francisco and opened her own salon.  In those early years, Eve was also a professional ice skater and was the runner up in the Miss Oakland beauty pageant.

On a visit back home in 1941, she bumped into someone she knew from school dances, Chris Ganos.  They would marry on October 31, 1943.  From the mid-1960s until her retirement in 1984, Eve was an athletic coach at an elementary school and then the first para-professional in the San Francisco Unified School District.  Upon retirement, she was active in fundraising for the French Benevolent Society, which is now a foundation that supports medical education.

Eve’s real passion was family history.  In the early 1980s, she made many trips to one of the many Family Research Centers to track her family tree and ultimately reconnected with the side of her family in France.  Over the ensuing 30 years, the family exchanged many visits.  Until her passing, the family remained in touch.

Chris passed away in 2001.  By 2011, Eve gave up her home of 60 years and moved near one son in Monterey County.  In 2015, that son’s business relocated to the Reno-Tahoe area and Eve followed.  In her final days, she loved to go for walks, sit in the sun, and express her love for her family and friends.

Evelyn had a sister Dorothy Jamison (born 1917) and a brother Vernon “Bud” Rose (born 1921); both lived in Santa Rosa their entire lives and both predeceased her.  She is survived by her sons Scott (wife Linda) and Todd (wife Cindy); grandchildren Matthew, Spencer, and Caroline; nephew and nieces Steven, Marilyn, Carole, Eloise, and Annette; and, her distant cousin Martine (of Marseilles, France).  Services will be private.  Eve will be buried with her family at Mount Olivet Memorial Park in Colma, California.  Memorial donations may be made to one’s favorite charity.

Contact Information

Todd C. Ganos

Son

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