Ethel “Ann” Wonka February 25, 1919 ~ November 6, 2009

With her 3 loving daughters, Patricia, Deborah and Barbara at her bedside, Ann Wonka passed away peacefully at the Village Healthcare Center in Hemet, California, Friday, November 6, 2009 at the age of 90. Ann was born in Mohawk, Michigan to John and Mary Sinko and grew up in Grand River, Ohio.

She was always quick to point out that her childhood home in Grand River was right across the street from Don Shula’s family home; the Miami Dolphin’s famous football coach. She studied nursing at Glenville-Huron Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio where she became a Registered Nurse and also met her future husband, Richard Wonka, while he was attending nearby John Carroll University.

Richard enlisted in the Navy and was sent to St. Louis University Medical School to become a Medical Doctor, and the two married. After graduation, Dr. Wonka was stationed at various Navy bases in the United States, including San Diego.

They fell in love with the west coast and the Pacific Ocean and eventually moved to Culver City and then Pacific Palisades where they resided for 50 years, raising three girls. Ann was the epitome of a homemaker. She loved her family and provided a warm, nurturing, cozy home in which to grow and thrive.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica on Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:30 am, followed by interment at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Arrangements entrusted to the care of McWane Family Funeral Home (951) 658-9497

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

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