Gilbert Greenwald of Fort Bragg died April 1, 2013, at Mendocino Coast District Hospital. Born on Jan. 25, 1946, at Santa Barbara, to Gilbert and Rita Greenwald, he was 67.
A memorial gathering will take place in Santa Barbara in June. For information contact
djohnson58@verizon.net.
Gilbert grew up in Santa Barbara and graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1963. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1966-1967 on the river boats in Vietnam. The day before he deployed overseas, he married Christine Nielsen. They had a daughter and son, Buffy and Jason. In 1979, he married Carol Patterson Justice and he treated her daughter, Beth, as his own. They had two sons, Daniel (Dano) and Micah. Gil worked as a U.S. mail carrier in Carpinteria, Calif., and Fort Bragg, for a total of 35 years with a seven-year interim period working as a corrections officer at the Santa Barbara County jail. To celebrate his retirement in 2011, he worked at Rossi Building Materials until December 2012 when his illness forced him to finally sit down.
Gil was well known for his cheerful whistle, off-beat sense of humor, and love of making new friends everywhere. Most of all he loved his family and made them laugh. He had many interests, including a deep love of all types of music, riding his motorcycle, and making pottery. He was proud of his diverse ethnic and culture background with Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish, European, Native American (Puelbo tribe), and Mexican ancestors.
Gil is survived by his wife, Carol, and children, Buffy Ramirez, Beth Hart, Daniel Greenwald and Micah Greenwald. He is also survived by his birth siblings, Marie Thiessen, Emma Hernandez, Dolores Barragan, Marian Taylor, Ernie Greenwald, Mark Rodrigues, Frank Unzueta, and Simonette Guerrero. Additionally, he is survived by his adopted mother Alexandra Morelli, and siblings, James Morelli, Dolores Johnson, Helen Jane Pumphrey, Jeana (Baby Doll) Morelli, Sharon Morelli, Dennis Morelli, and Kenneth Morelli. He leaves seven grandchildren and seven great-grand children as well as numerous nieces, nephews and their children. He was predeceased by his birth parents, Rita and Gilbert; his adopted father, Martin Morelli; his son, Jason Greenwald; and his brothers, J.P. Unzueta, Jimmy Gonzalez, and Steven Morelli.
The family wants to thank Dr. Rochat and the staff at MCDH for the excellent and sensitive care they provided Gil and his family during this difficult time.
