Geraldine M. Hawsey

Geraldine Hawsey, a long-time resident of Watsonville, passed away peacefully on October 9, 2024, after a short illness.

She was born to Hugo and Irene Manfre in Medford, Massachusetts on February 5,1930, enjoying a wonderful childhood with her four siblings Bob, Dick, Bev, and Bill. A year after her 1947 high school graduation from Medford High School, her parents decided to make the big move to California, settling in Watsonville at the recommendation of another family member that had come out west.

Her first job was at Rasco’s on Main Street, now the current site of Goodwill. A short time later, she moved down the street to become the office manager at Montgomery Wards. The store manager was a gentleman named Bob Culbertson. Next door to their store was the Marty Franich car dealership, and Marty eventually asked Bob to come to work for him. Bob would only agree if he was allowed to bring Jeri with him. Marty agreed, and that was the beginning of her 40+ year career as their office manager.

During these early years in California, she met a local confirmed bachelor named Ed Gluhan. To the surprise of many Watsonville locals, the courtship blossomed, and they were married at St. Patrick’s church in December 1956. She left Franich to focus on being a mom to Cindy, then the following year Eddie was born. Once the kids started school, she returned to the working world part-time at Sweet’s Service auto parts. Before long, Marty talked her into coming back to work for him at the Franich dealership. She did so, as the company grew and moved up to occupy both sides of Arthur Rd at their brand-new location. She spent the remainder of her career there, well into the 1990’s, as the office manager for Bob Culbertson on the Lincoln Mercury side of the dealership.

She loved being a mom and never missed a school or sporting event, making sure the family was thriving. As the Manfre siblings married and began having families, spending family time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins was a constant in our lives, as family was everything to our mom. A huge highlight in our lives was our annual summer vacation at Sveadal with our wonderful Manfre cousins, and of course, our epic Thanksgiving gatherings, which eventually reached triple digits in later years.

Jeri married a second time in the late 70s to another well-known local gentlemen, James Hawsey, aka: Bud the barber.

They had many adventures with family and friends, including golf trips to Mexico and Hawaii, visiting Bob and Shirl in the desert, going to 49er games with Dick and Teresa in “the coach”, attending their countless Elks Club functions, or visiting/hosting many of their friends for weekly domino/card games.

Jeri loved being a nana and her life was complete once the grandkids came along. They were her world and there was not a single event that she did not attend. Sunday evening dinners at mom‘s house have been a family tradition for the last several decades. How she loved those Sunday dinners! And how she loved completely decorating her house for each holiday!

In her later years, she and her sister-in-law Donna would take countless trips up to “the cabin” of course, returning with hilarious stories every time, especially about their trips to the casino. She loved living next door to her big sister, Bev. Standing on their porches talking to each other or through the backyard fence was almost a daily occurrence. Late in life, she was most happy sitting in the sun on her deck, reading the paper from cover to cover, working on a crossword puzzle, enjoying her roses, hovering over one of her hundreds of jigsaw puzzles, having her evening Manhattan, or just spending time with her constant companion, her dog Baloo. Of course, if there was a Giants or Warriors game on, she would not miss that. She was independent and capable, able to live alone up until just a couple months ago.

She survived by her children, Cindy Megason (Sam) and Ed Gluhan (Denise), her grandchildren Lindsay Gizdich, Nick Gizdich, and Kody Gluhan, her sister Beverly VanSandt, her sister-in-law Teresa Manfre, stepdaughter Denise Rossi (Chip), many adoring nieces and nephews, and her loving companion, her dog Baloo. She is also survived by her former son-in-law, Mitch Gizdich whom she was very fond of and considered him one of her own.

She was predeceased by her parents Hugo and Irene Manfre, her grandsons Josh and Kyle Gluhan, her husband Edward Gluhan and James Hawsey, her brothers Bob, Dick, and Bill Manfre, and sisters-in-law Shirley and Donna Manfre.

The family would like to personally thank Dr. Jeffrey Mace and his staff for his wonderful care of Jeri for decades, and for his compassion, friendship, advice, and wisdom.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her name to the Santa Cruz SPCA or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

At her request, there were no formal services, Ave Maria Memorial Chapel was entrusted with the arrangements.