Rudolph F. Chiesa

            Rudolph Fredrick Chiesa was born on January 15, 1940, in Merced, CA, and passed on August 23, 2023, in Fresno CA.

            Rudy was raised in Merced, attending the local schools, including the original Fremont school.  He graduated from Merced High School in 1957.

            Not long after graduation, he was introduced to a young lady from El Nido named JoAnn Forte.  The chemistry must have been right as they began dating, and they were eventually married in November of 1961.  Their family grew over the years as they welcomed two sons, Jeff and Ed, and two daughters, Nancy and Dianna.  He was very involved in his children’s lives, volunteering as a coach for his sons’ Little League teams and as a Pack Leader and assistant Scoutmaster during their years in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.  He led the family on numerous day trips to the beaches near Santa Cruz, A’s baseball games, and several camping trips that would see the family in northern California, Oregon and Nevada.

            Rudy was involved in the automotive field, working for many years first with T.B.A Auto Parts, and then with Isenberg Motors.  He gave racing a try in his younger days, competing at the local track.  He even smashed a few cars in local destruction derbies.  After his children had grown, an employment opportunity saw him and JoAnn move to Augusta, Georgia, for several years.  They returned to Fresno to be near their daughter Nancy and her newborn twins.  It was at this time that Rudy decided to retire.

            Rudy enjoyed his vegetable gardens.  He grew grape and blackberry vines, and planted apricot, peach, and plum trees that the family enjoyed for many years.  While helping Nancy earn her collecting merit badge for Girl Scouts, he developed a love for stamp collecting that became a hobby of his for more than 40 years.  He was an avid sports fan, rarely missing a game on TV, cheering on the A’s, Giants, Raiders, and 49ers.  Rudy had a lifelong love for cats that he shared with Dianna, the two of them taking loving care of the family pets.

            Rudy was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Teresa Chiesa, and his brother, David ‘Butch’ Chiesa.  He is survived by his wife JoAnn Chiesa, his son Jeffrey Chiesa, wife Ellen, his son Edward Chiesa, daughter Nancy Miller, husband Michael, daughter Dianna Wells, husband Arne, his five grandsons, Thomas and Andrew Chiesa, and Austin, Brennan, and Garrett Miller, his sister Deanna Hauser and many nieces and nephews.         

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