Tanya Ojala passed away on Sunday, July 15, 2018 at age 69 following complications from liver failure.
She was born on June 16, 1949 in Los Angeles, the beloved daughter of Harry Nelson and the late Diane (Meerschaert) Nelson. She was the eldest of five children and had four younger brothers whom she helped raise: Larry, Ronald, John and the late James Nelson. After graduating from St. Bernard Catholic School in 1967, she attended the University of California at Los Angeles. It was there that she met and married in 1970 the late Donald I. Ojala. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Pictorial Art and then worked for a few years before starting her family.
She was the beloved mother of three children: Erik (Katherine Fitzgerald), Thomas (Pooja Lal) and Kristin (Conan Dooley) Ojala. She raised all three and supported her husband's career, moving the family from California to Germany, Indiana and Pennsylvania before returning to California in 2001 following Don's passing. A resident of Moraga for a total of 25 years, she loved horses, horseback riding and art. She is survived by her father, three of her four brothers, her three children, and her three grandchildren, Luke, Ben and Anika Ojala.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Sierra Club Foundation (sierraclubfoundation.org) or the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (bbrfoundation.org).
She was born on June 16, 1949 in Los Angeles, the beloved daughter of Harry Nelson and the late Diane (Meerschaert) Nelson. She was the eldest of five children and had four younger brothers whom she helped raise: Larry, Ronald, John and the late James Nelson. After graduating from St. Bernard Catholic School in 1967, she attended the University of California at Los Angeles. It was there that she met and married in 1970 the late Donald I. Ojala. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Pictorial Art and then worked for a few years before starting her family.
She was the beloved mother of three children: Erik (Katherine Fitzgerald), Thomas (Pooja Lal) and Kristin (Conan Dooley) Ojala. She raised all three and supported her husband's career, moving the family from California to Germany, Indiana and Pennsylvania before returning to California in 2001 following Don's passing. A resident of Moraga for a total of 25 years, she loved horses, horseback riding and art. She is survived by her father, three of her four brothers, her three children, and her three grandchildren, Luke, Ben and Anika Ojala.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Sierra Club Foundation (sierraclubfoundation.org) or the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (bbrfoundation.org).
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA