Leneta Marie Sanguinetti

Before dawn broke on Saturday, January 7, 2023, Leneta Marie Sanguinetti signed off on a life well-lived and full of love. Our beloved starlet was born to the late Walter F. Kratz and Lea Bernice Conserva (Kratz) in Hollywood, California on December 18, 1929. Leneta described herself as a scrawny baby and a shy child, yet neither quality prevented her from leading the completest of lives. Her story began in Southern California before she and her parents moved to their home on Laurel Avenue in Millbrae, California. Her mother was a talented milliner who could turn any piece of fabric into a masterpiece, while her father worked for the legendary W.P. Fuller Paint Company, walking the scaffoldings of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges to ensure the paint work was up to snuff. It was in Northern California that Leneta’s lifelong passion for San Francisco baseball began, as she attended Giants games at Kezar Stadium with her father, and actually got to watch a visiting Joe DiMaggio play.

Leneta attended Burlingame High and then San Mateo College, where she met the future love of her life, Robert B. Sanguinetti, as he tried to kick her off the badminton courts so that he and his buddies could commence their basketball game. They went together for five years before Robert proposed to Leneta on a ride in the car, making their presumptive engagement official. Following Robert’s Stanford graduation and with his draft notice in hand, the two were married at St. Dunstan’s Catholic Church in Millbrae, and received by friends and family down the road at Green Hills Country Club. They honeymooned in Carmel before moving to Arkansas where Leneta supported her “Sang” as he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and as she also served as a dental assistant at the Post Dental Clinic at Camp San Luis Obispo, California. She would later continue that work in a private practice.

They eventually moved to Robert’s hometown of Stockton, California, and purchased their home on Clarksburg Place, undoubtedly in part because of the Little League diamond that abutted the backyard fence. In that house, Leneta and Robert raised and reigned in their four children, Debbie, Danny, Bobby, and Donny, as well as a slew of dogs, pigeons, birds, rabbits, chipmunks, and feral cats. Over time, Leneta watched as her already close-knit yet chaotic family grew to triple in size through weddings, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren alike. To the disappointment of the entire family, Leneta always refused to admit which kid, in-law, or grandkid was her favorite, opting instead for, “All of them. You’re all neat. Just neat.”

Leneta was so many things to so many people. A self-professed taxi driver, Leneta shuffled kids and grandkids to school, games, and practices. She was also the family fun coordinator, hosting holiday parties and other get-togethers where she prepared her famous raviolis, English toffee, and apple pies, and bestowed handmade quilts and dolls on lucky recipients. She was an avid volunteer, offering her time at St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Haggin Museum, making Pinkie puppets for children in need, and serving as a longtime member of the Manteca Quilters. She was a quilter, a seamstress, a knitter, a gardener, a music enthusiast, a bridge player, a baker, and a collector. But more than anything else, Leneta was a wife, a mother, a nonie, and a friend.

In addition to her beloved Sang, Leneta was pre-deceased by her parents, her aunties Juliet and Francis, and their husbands, Harry and Baxter. Left with decades of fond and vibrant memories (as well as her many collections) are her children Debbie Tallia (Ron), Dan Sanguinetti (Beth), Bob Sanguinetti (Jamie), and Don Sanguinetti; grandchildren Elizabeth Sanguinetti (Matt) and Robert Sanguinetti (Kristen), Lauren Henson (Jon) and Kimberly Sanguinetti, Michael Tallia and Lea Tallia, Blaine Vernon (Natalie) and Brandon Vernon (Christiann); and great-grandchildren Presley, Rosey, Barron, Colin, Wesley, Blythe, Harper, Brynn, Alivia, Caden, James, Hailey, Ava, Arsen, and Luciano. Leneta also cherished the relationships she shared with her many cousins, including her closest cousin, Alan Frey.

A celebration of life will be held on February 23, beginning at 12pm, at Elkhorn Country Club (1050 Elkhorn Drive, Stockton, CA 95209), where we will eat, toast, and reminisce as any good Italian would. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Hospice of San Joaquin, 3888 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA 95204, (209) 957-3888, https://www.hospicesj.org/contribute.