Obituary of Gloria Wollman

Our beloved Gloria Wollman passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 in Simi Valley, California surrounded by loved ones. Gloria was just a few weeks shy of her 90th birthday. We will miss her terribly but are comforted to know she is at peace and is no longer suffering from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

We wish to thank the wonderful staff at Ivy Park Assisted Living as well as Affinity Health Care Resources, both in Simi Valley, for taking such good care of her during her final illness.

Gloria was born in Cranston, Rhode Island on November 19th, 1933. She was the fifth child of her parents, Henry Moretti and Celia Yuppa (Iuppa) Moretti. She grew up in Cranston in a large Italian family of 8 children and loved to share stories about growing up. Gloria attended Cranston East High School where she was an excellent student and loved school. She was such a good typist that she was asked to be the secretary for the Dean of Girls while still in high school, which made her very proud. Gloria graduated in 1951 and started working in banking at Industrial National Bank in Providence, Rhode Island. She also took classes at Bryant College.

In 1955, Gloria left Rhode Island at the age of 21 and drove across the country by herself to Las Vegas, Nevada. She married Earl Clinton Gross in Las Vegas late that year. They were parents of two children, Pamela Ann and Patricia May. Earl passed away in 1969, whereupon Gloria returned to the work force, once again in banking. She married Gene A. Taylor in 1972 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and subsequently moved to California, first Mission Viejo, and later Goleta. The marriage with Gene brought three stepchildren into her lives – Guy, Shari and Ken Taylor, which brought her a lot of joy. She became an assistant manager and loan officer at First Interstate Bank in Goleta, and subsequently vice president and branch manager at Washington Mutual Bank (now Chase) in the San Roque area of Santa Barbara. She thrived at her work and truly loved her bank branch, her work, her customers and staff. She made many dear friends while working at the bank.

She lived over 35 years in the Santa Barbara area and it felt like home to her, although she always missed her family in Rhode Island and Las Vegas. After Gene passed away in early 1996, Gloria was blessed to find a wonderful husband in Milton Wollman, and they spent four lovely years together traveling, going to restaurants and movies and enjoying life before Milton’s passing in early 2001. Gloria moved to Thousand Oaks in 2006 to be near her daughter, Patricia, son-in-law Bill, and grand-daughters Jordin and Grace. After getting settled in the Thousand Oaks area, she started a second career as a sales associate at Hallmark. She had always wanted to have her own gift shop, so working at Hallmark was perfect for her. Once again, she loved

her co-workers and customers and enjoyed her position greatly. She became an outstanding saleswoman and worked up until 2020 at age 86.

Gloria was warm-hearted, generous, kind and loved to feed people (possibly due to her Italian-American heritage!). She was also an outstanding professional and excelled in her work, winning awards and praise wherever she went. She was a loving mother and went above and beyond the call of duty ensuring her daughters were able to graduate from college, and she worked so hard taking excellent care of daughter Pam when she got so ill with Lupus.

Gloria was raised in the Catholic Church and considered herself a life-long Catholic. She faced many challenges in life, most especially enduring the loss of many cherished family members. She never failed to draw on her faith in Christ to help her through all these trials. Gloria faced life’s challenges with grace and determination, setting an inspiring example for all who knew her. Her memory will continue to be an inspiration.

The loss of Gloria on this earth leaves a void in our hearts that can never be filled, but we take comfort in the memories we shared and the love she gave us. In honoring her legacy, we find solace and inspiration to live our lives with the same grace and compassion she displayed.

Gloria is survived by her daughter, Patricia Williams, son-in -law, Bill Williams, grand-daughters, Jordin and Grace Williams, step-sons, Guy and Kenneth Taylor, step-daughter, Shari Grady, their spouses and children, and many beloved nephews and nieces and their families.