Gilroy pioneer Eva Marian Fortado Bevilacqua died peacefully
Tuesday, March 11, at the age of 93.
Gilroy pioneer Eva Marian Fortado Bevilacqua died peacefully Tuesday, March 11, at the age of 93.
Eva was born on Alexander Street in Gilroy to parents Joseph and Jessie Fortado. As a farming family, Eva and her brother Raymond called the whole south Santa Clara Valley their home and lived in San Juan Bautista, Gilroy and San Martin where she attended San Martin School until the eighth grade. When she married Frank Bevilacqua in 1931, the couple moved to Madrone where they ranched into the 1980s.
Eva moved back to Gilroy in the late 1980s. Throughout her life, Eva was first a homemaker and always known for her cooking at community potlucks and dinners. As her children grew older, Eva entered the workplace and was a familiar face at the Farmer’s Union in downtown Morgan Hill (Squeri’s Brothers Hardware). She also worked at Filice and Perilli Cannery in Gilroy and Driscoll Packing in San Martin. Eva was always a part of her children’s lives and participated in Morgan Hill Elementary, Encinal School and Live Oak High School Parent Clubs.
Later in her life as she had the time, Eva became a charter member of the El Toro Republican Women’s Club. A highlight of that part of her life included meeting and campaigning with then governor Ronald Reagan and president Gerald Ford. She was also a charter member of the Morgan Hill Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She served on every committee imaginable in the Morgan Hill Grange and was most recently an enthusiastic participant in Women in Touch.
Eva leaves a daughter Frances Kohler of Albion, wife of the late Richard E. Kohler, and son Donald Bevilacqua and his wife Christine of Gilroy as well as grandchildren Valerie Kohler Patton, Kevin Kohler, Kathryne and Lauren Bevilacqua and five great grandchildren.
A private service was held at St. Mary Church. If you wish to honor Eva, the family would appreciate donations to the Scleroderma Research Foundation at 2320 Bath St., Suite 315, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 or any charity of your choice. Arrangements by Habing Family Funeral Home, Gilroy.
