Obituaries

Wadie Deddeh, the 'Father of Caltrans'

Note: The following obituary was written by John Wilkens and appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune on Aug. 30, 2019.

Two terms in office, Wadie Deddeh thought. Maybe three.

He was first and foremost a teacher, an Iraqi-American who understood the history, culture and government of his native country and his adopted one and relished sharing his insights. The classroom, he figured, is where he really belonged.

But three terms as a moderate Democratic state legislator became four, and then five, and then 10, and when the South Bay resident finally stepped down in 1993, he had spent 16 years in the Assembly and 11 in the Senate, earning a reputation for bipartisanship that seems almost quaint in today’s polarized political climate.

“The word compromise need not be offensive to people,” he once told the Union-Tribune, summing up his political philosophy. “This is what civilized people do.

Deddeh died just 10 days before his 99th birthday, at an assisted living facility in Poway. The state Senate adjourned in his memory the following Friday, with words of praise from San Diego-area legislators on both sides of the aisle.

Born Sept. 6, 1920 in Baghdad, Deddeh grew up in a Chaldean family with a passion for politics. Two of his relatives served in the Iraqi parliament. After graduating from the University of Baghdad with a degree in literature, he taught high school for a year before emigrating to the U.S. in 1947. He settled in Detroit and worked for a cousin who ran a grocery store.

He came to California to teach Arabic at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where he met his future wife, Mary-Lynn. They moved to the South Bay and both got teaching jobs. His was at Sweetwater High School, and several years later he joined the political science faculty at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. He also founded a support group for U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, an early foray into campaigning.

According to what he later told reporters, Deddeh would sometimes talk about local politics in his government and political science classes. One time, after he’d criticized a couple of elected officials, a student asked, “Why don’t you run?” The idea took hold.

When an assembly seat opened up in 1966, he joined the race and won by 1,000 votes, becoming one of the first Iraqi-Americans elected to public office in the country.

His background as a foreign-born candidate didn’t hurt him then, but it led to abuse 25 years later during the Persian Gulf War, when his office received angry anti-Iraq phone calls and death threats. It was a wrenching time for him as he openly supported his adopted country, the U.S., while privately anguishing over the unknown fate of relatives in Iraq.

As a legislator representing politically conservative districts, he shied away from fiery social issues and focused on delivering public works projects for the South Bay, such as a new judicial center that enabled residents to handle court matters closer to home instead of driving to San Diego.

“He was somebody who wanted to get the job done,” said his son, Peter Deddeh. “He wasn’t an ideologue. He cared about helping people, and he was willing to work with everyone.”

He had a particular interest in transportation and in 1972 authored legislation creating the California Department of Transportation.

Those efforts earned him a label as “the Father of Caltrans,” and in 2006 a new building for the agency, in Old Town, was named after him. At the dedication ceremony, Deddeh gave a talk quoting presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt (a Democrat) and Ronald Reagan (a Republican).

“He was part of a generation of legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, who established a culture of absolute bipartisan support and trust and it lasted for years,” said Steve Peace, a Deddeh protege who spent two decades himself in the Legislature. “They were committed to the public, not to politics.”

In 1992, Deddeh ran for a new seat in Congress but lost in a bitterly fought primary to Bob Filner, then a San Diego City Council member. Stung by the loss after 11 straight electoral victories, Deddeh resigned his state senate seat a year later. He said he wanted to return to the classroom and he did, teaching political science at Southwestern College for several years and then at National University.

He also worked as a lobbyist and as a consultant for a corporation that recruited Iraqi translators for the military. He was active in the local Chaldean community, one of the largest in the country, and helped build St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon.

“He saw the United States as a place of hope, opportunity, and refuge,” said Mark Arabo, Deddeh’s nephew and a local businessman. “Despite the changing landscape of American politics, he maintained the notion that what unifies us is much greater than the political differences meant to divide us.”

Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Mary-Lynn; a son, Presiding San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh (and wife Aleta); three grandchildren; two brothers; and one sister.

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Robert 'Bob' McDougald, oversaw reconstruction of Bay Bridge after ’89 quake'

Note: Robert McDougald participated in the Caltrans oral history project about the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. That recording is accessible online. The following obituary appeared on Legacy.com.

Robert “Bob” McDougald died peacefully on June 6, 2019, in Pleasant Hill.

He passed away from complications following a stroke on June 4. He was surrounded by family throughout his final days.

Bob was 90 years old.

He is survived by his lifelong partner and wife Edith Ann (married 65 years), children Debbie and Dick (Jean Sanchirico), grandchildren Ryan and Elle, and brother Charles.

Bob was a native Californian who was born in Fresno and grew up in Visalia. He graduated from Visalia Union High School in 1946. After high school he immediately joined the U.S. Army and served tours in both Japan and South Korea.

Upon returning to the States he attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1954 with a degree in civil engineering. He then worked as a senior bridge engineer, bridge manager and maintenance chief for Caltrans from 1954 to 1991. He was the maintenance chief during the Loma Prieta earthquake and oversaw the reconstruction effort of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Bob lived the last 61 years of his life in Pleasant Hill and enjoyed his summers at his cabin in Tahoe. He loved the outdoors and was very active hiking, skiing and swimming in the Sierra lakes and Pacific Ocean. He had a passion for sports and followed his beloved Cal Bears, Giants, 49ers and Warriors throughout his life.

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Arnie Raaymakers, retired survey party chief

Note: The following obituary appeared in Legacy.com.

Arnold (Arnie) T. Raaymakers died on Dec. 2, 2019, in San Jose after a short illness complicated by Alzheimer's.

Arnie was born on March 3, 1930, to Anna and John Raaymakers and raised in Lynden, Washington. He attended Lynden High School (class of 1948) and San Jose State University, where he received his engineering degree in 1953.

After graduating from SJSU, Arnie joined the Army and while stationed in El Paso Texas, he met his first wife, Margarita. They married in 1955 and moved to San Jose. They had four children before divorcing.

After his military service, Arnie was a survey party chief for Caltrans from 1957 until his retirement in 1991.

In 1976, Arnie married Lynn and they settled in Livermore. In 1991, they moved to Lynden. After Lynn died in April 2017, Arnie moved to San Jose to be closer to his family.

Arnie is survived by his children; Barbara (Marshall), Stevan (Veronica), John (Hoan) and Mike (Jill); his grandchildren, Matthew, Alejandro and Andres; his former wife, Margarita; five stepchildren; a nephew and two nieces; and family in the Netherlands.

Arnie was a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus and an avid Notre Dame football fan. A Memorial Mass was celebrated in Lynden.

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Janet Schaffer, retired right of way district director

Note: The following obituary was posted on the Facebook page for Caltrans District 11 Quarter Century Club.

Retired Caltrans Deputy District Director of Right of Way Janet Schaffer died on Feb. 5. She retired from Caltrans in December 2013.

Janet spent her entire 36-year career at Caltrans in the Right of Way Division. She started as a right of way agent in District 4 in 1977. She moved to District 11 in 1980, becoming the second female right of way agent in the district. She earned a temporary assignment as excess land appraiser in 1997 and was permanently promoted to the district’s land appraiser in 1988 when she started calling herself the “Excess Land Queen.”

By 1992 Janet was promoted to senior right of way agent in property management and her career took off. From property management she moved to the Relocation Assistance Program and took her “Excess Land Queen” drive throughout the Right of Way Division to eventually become deputy division chief in 2007.

Her professional career highlights include the handling of the Town & County Mobile Estates for the State Route 52 Sunny Side Gateway Project in Santee and the old district office.

She is remembered as a great leader, a team builder, fun co-worker and friend.

After retiring, Janet enjoyed shopping, traveling with her sister, walking, exercising and spending time with her family. Janet is survived by her husband of 36 years, three sisters, one brother and several nieces and nephews.

The family held a private funeral ceremony.

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Michael J. Vujovich, retired resident engineer

Note: Michael J. Vujovich participated in the Caltrans oral history project about the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. That recording is accessible online. The following obituary appeared on Legacy.com.

Michael J. Vujovich, a retired resident engineer for Caltrans, died May 12, 2019 in San Jose.

He was 84 years old.

Michael was born on Nov. 17, 1934, in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, to Jelena and Jovan Vujovich.

After moving from Pennsylvania to San Francisco via Triangle Lake, Oregon, Mike spent his formative years in San Francisco where he graduated from George Washington High School and City College of San Francisco.

He married Norine Entwisle and began a career as an engineer with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Mike also proudly served in the U.S. Air Force on active duty from October 1957, to November 1962.

Mike was a very passionate person and had a zest for life. He loved playing stand-up bass with The Veseli Seljaci Tamburitza Orchestra, which he did for more than 20 years with dates all over the country. He also played bass locally in a group called Dunav.

Mike was very interested in world history, politics and many other subjects, which he loved discussing with friends and family. He and Maryann also loved spending time at the beach in Oregon, with his family, going crabbing, clamming and just relaxing in nature.

Mike is survived by his loving son and daughter, Steven & Michele (Jake), his grandchildren, Nolan and Kaelyn, his sisters, Jean Olson (Jerry) and Danica Hendrickson (Jack), his partner of 24 years, Maryann Cao, and many other family members who loved him very much. He was pre-deceased by his former wife, Norene.

Services were held at the Serbian Cemetery in Colma.