April 23, 1928 – October 31, 2019
Yvonne Damele passed away peacefully from ovarian cancer on October 31, 2019 at her home in Menlo Park. Yvonne was preceded in death by her husband Joseph John Damele and her parents Fredrick and Alma Steinmetz. She is survived by her brother Charles Steinmetz, sister Mary Morris (Cal), children Mark Damele, Michele McMillan (Gordon), Catherine Damele (Chris Steckel), Christine Lies (James) and John Damele, nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Yvonne was born on April 23, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the middle of three children. She graduated from Marymount University in Los Angeles and worked for TWA as a flight attendant. She met Joseph Damele in San Francisco at a fraternity mixer for UCSF dental students. They moved to the San Francisco Peninsula where they raised their five children. Yvonne worked at Sunset Magazine for decades in the test and entertainment kitchens and later as an educational tour guide for school children. She thrived there because she enjoyed cooking, decorating and entertaining. Yvonne learned how to swim later in life and swimming with her friends at Burgess Pool in Menlo Park brought her so much joy. She was very involved at Nativity Church and the St Vincent de Paul organization.
Yvonne truly loved life to the fullest through travel, entertaining and her friendships. Family was at the forefront of Yvonne’s life and she was dedicated to her children and grandchildren. Her greatest joy was from family celebrations and get togethers. Yvonne had an uncanny ability to make people feel included and uniquely special. To her last days she defied aging. She was so much younger than her years. Her amazing strength, dignity and love will be sorely missed, as will she, by her family and all who knew her.