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Obituary for Julia "Julie" Rico
Julia “Julie” Rico was called home to be with her Lord and Savior on January 20, 2021, at the age of 102. She was born in San Francisco, California, on December 8, 1918, to her parents, Alejandro and Maria Ramon. She was one of 14 siblings, 12 girls and two boys. Julia attended school in Winters, California. She married John Rico in 1939 and lived in Mountain View, California, before moving to Vacaville, California, in 1960. Julia worked as a beautician for 63 years, 39 of those years in Vacaville.
Julia was preceded in death by her husband John Rico, son John James Rico, daughter Arleen Schadle, and granddaughter Julie Schadle. She is survived by her son Joe (wife Cindy) of Fairfield, California, sister Jean Vaughan of Winters, California, sister Helen Corlett of Redding, California, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a large extended family.
Julia (Julie), aka Grams, was a country girl at heart. She loved her 10-acre property in Vacaville and lived there until she was 95 years old. She loved gardening and canning and even was awarded for her efforts at local fairs. She also made salsa, cured olives, and made Spanish sausage. Her son, Joe, carries on those traditions.
Julia was a lifelong beautician, retiring at the age of 80. She shared a special bond with her “ladies” and even after retirement would still go to some of their homes to do their hair. She enjoyed reading and had a variety of interests. She loved music and dancing. To say she enjoyed attending Joe’s Solano Winds concerts would be an understatement. She would dance in her seat and exclaim, “Oh, man!” when they’d play a favorite tune. You never knew when she was going to break out singing a Johnny Cash song. She would dance with or for anybody anywhere, even in elevators. She called her moves the jitterbug. At her granddaughter Nicole’s wedding in 2012, at the age of 93, she danced for the entire reception, mostly with the groom. She bowled in a league for many years and painted several oil paintings over the years for herself and others.
Julia loved to travel. Over the years, she visited her daughter, Arleen, in different states, most recently Virginia. She loved those visits. She would go to various exercise classes, to the Elks, on long motorcycle rides with her son-in-law, Warren, and occasionally to see her grandson, Bill, and his family in Texas/New Mexico. She was always up for an adventure. She traveled throughout California, to Hawaii and to Spain. She even went to Disneyland for her 97 th birthday. She was the best character there. Her parting words to just about everyone were, “Hasta la vista, baby!” to their amusement and delight.
Julia lived a full and blessed life coupled with occasional heartache. But through it all, she kept her positive attitude which was infectious and inspiring. She would often say, “Things are looking up!” If someone asked her how she was doing, she would reply, “100 percent!” Faith and family meant everything to her. She loved the Lord and going to church. She was friends with everyone she met. No one was ever a stranger for long if she could help it. She was fiercely independent and would never hesitate to speak her mind. She was young at heart, always going on 16 as she would say. She loved children so much. She called them (even adult “children”) her “little cuties”. She even once played Santa for them at the annual family Christmas Eve party. And she loved to laugh out loud, really loud. She would always say, “Just let me get this out,” as she would burst into joyous laughter. Hers was a life well lived, leaving behind a legacy of love and positivity. We will miss her every day. We will reminisce about her often to keep her memory alive. We will honor her life with how we live ours. We will see her again. She hasn’t gone away. She has just gone ahead.
Donations can be made in Julia’s name to Solano Winds Concert Band at https://solanowinds.org/give.
