Wanda Theresa Luisi, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, entered into rest on March 6, 2024 at the age of 88.   A 31-year resident of Richmond, Wanda was born on April 20, 1935 to Polish immigrant parents Stanley and Antonina Zaucha in Chicago, Illinois.  She attended St. John Cantius Polish Catholic Grammar School and Lake View High School, where she met her future husband, James Luisi, their senior year.  He proposed to her after three weeks of dating, but they waited to marry until he had earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  

Wanda was an experienced typist and held secretarial positions at AT&T in Chicago and at Purdue’s Agriculture Department before spending three years with Jim at Edwards Airforce Base in California.  After Jim finished his military service, they returned to Purdue where he completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering.  Wanda’s skills proved invaluable in typing Jim’s 100-page doctoral dissertation on a Smith-Corona typewriter specially modified with mathematical symbols.  She typed 10 perfect pages a day—using carbon paper to make copies—all while caring for three children under the age of six.

When Jim secured a position at the Autonetics Division of North American Aviation in 1965, they moved first to Yorba Linda and then to Anaheim, California, where they lived for 24 years.  Wanda focused on caring for the family and volunteering at the children’s schools, her church, and a local hospital.  When her eldest daughter left for college and her two youngest daughters were in high school, Wanda went back to college; in her youth she had taken courses at Loyola University in Chicago.  She completed an AA at Fullerton Community College, and a BA cum laude (1982) in English with a minor in history and an MA (1986) in English from the California State University at Fullerton.  She was the first person in her immediate family to graduate from college.

After Jim retired in 1989, she accompanied him to part-time contract assignments for the Department of the Army in New Jersey.  They made several trips to the East Coast before settling in Richmond, California in 1993.

Wanda continued her volunteerism, serving with Jim for 22 years at Loaves and Fishes, a ministry run by Newman Hall – Holy Spirit Parish in Berkeley, that provides monthly dinners to homeless individuals.  Wanda also accompanied Jim when he worked on repair projects for Newman Hall and their Breakers housing development in Richmond.  Jim was often asked to fix things, and Wanda served as assistant repair woman, handing him tools and parts as needed.  Breakers recognized her years of service by putting her name on a bench in the community.  

Wanda enjoyed travel, taking her first foreign trip to England and Scotland at the age of 56, and later visiting Canada, Italy (thrice), Poland, and Sweden (twice).  She made her last trip, to Iceland and Ireland, at the age of 86.  She remained a voracious reader all her life and particularly enjoyed histories and English mysteries.

A woman of deep faith, Wanda is survived by Jim, her loving husband of nearly 67 years; daughters Linda Luisi, Lori Hepler, and Alaina Luisi; son-in law Dan Hepler; grandchildren Katie Hepler, and Jim and Emily Hepler; great-granddaughter Lydia; and sister-in-law Nancy Klaman.  She was predeceased by sisters Florence Podraza and Rose Danis; and by brothers-in-law Ted Podraza, Dan Danis, and Dan Klaman.  

Wanda’s funeral Mass will be held at St. Jerome Catholic Church in El Cerrito on March 20th at 11:00 am.  Burial will follow at nearby Sunset View Cemetery. 

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