Don Pedrotti, born December 30, 1951, at Redwood Memorial Hospital and Mary Mello, born April 5, 1950, at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka passed away within 10 days of each other last March 2023 — Don on March 18 at home in his sleep after a long illness and Mary, his wife, on March 28 at St. Joseph Hospital — after battling a prolonged fight with diabetes and two strokes.

Don spend his entire life in Ferndale, graduating from Ferndale High School in 1970. He worked a few jobs including pulling green chain at Pacific Lumber Scotia and pouring concrete for Carl Brungs before taking over the family dairy farm on Grizzly Bluff Road in Ferndale.

Mary grew up in Arcata on a dairy farm until the family moved in 1956 to Orland and then to Lac La Hash, British Columbia, in 1960. They moved back to Blue Lake California in 1964, just before the big flood and ending back in Arcata again, where she graduated from Arcata High School in 1968. Mary worked with her best friend Rosie at all kinds of jobs, from Dot’s Restaurant, picking daffodil bulbs in McKinleyville and crab and shrimp for Lazio’s Seafood in Eureka to working data processing at St Joseph’s Hospital and the front office at Humboldt Central Labs.

Don and Mary met at a dance in Ferndale and married in the barn at their dairy farm on July 27, 1991, and lived and worked the farm life until Don retired in 2006.

Don was a hunter and looked forward to his yearly hunting trip to the cabin and making Italian sausage with his brothers. Mary enjoyed raising their boy Sonny and the annual Halloween party in the barn for all the kids. She also loved working in her yard and planting flowers everywhere around her home. Mary had a gift to make people laugh and she always left you with a smile. They will be sorely missed.

Don and Mary are survived by their son Nick and his wife Lacey and granddaughter Anna; and son Sonny Pedrotti; Don’s siblings Dan Pedrotti, Sylvia Grandy, Sid Pedrotti and their spouses and many nieces and nephews. Mary’s siblings are Dorothy Mello, Joseph Mello Jr. and his wife Teresa Mello, Barbara Mello-Wolf and many more nieces and nephews and great- and great-grand-nieces and -nephews.

A potluck celebration of life for Don and Mary will be held July 22 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Ferndale City Hall Auditorium. Family and friends of Don and Mary are cordially invited.

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