Obituaries

Luther Thomas "Tommy" Wheat Sr. (77)

Luther Thomas Wheat Sr. (77), arrived on February 17, 1945 in Lewisburg, Tennessee in the family hospital. His grandfather was the first doctor in that part of the state, and practiced medicine with his son. That night it took family and friends to help with his birth. His mother, Gene, was upstairs in delivery and his father, Luther, and family friends were in the basement of the hospital trying to keep the boiler lit. A storm had blown in and the basement was flooding. His dad drove a truck from Tennessee to Madera and brought Tennessee walking horses to California. There he found their future in Madera. He called his wife and told her to bring Tommy, as they were moving to California. Tommy was 5 years old when he stepped off the train and got his first glimpse of the ‘golden state’, a small town called Madera.

He loved drag racing his whole life, as his father was a founder of the Madera Clutchers. As a youngster, he turned his bike, lawn mower and any other piece of equipment with wheels into quarter mile winners. As a nine year old he was driving his dad’s truck to push start his dad’s “The Traveler” coupe in the alley behind their house. Everyone knew when the Wheats were working on their car, and even into his adulthood, Tommy could be found in the garage tinkering, eventually building his own dragster.

Dorothy June Mon Pere (86)

Dorothy June Mon Pere (86), who everyone called Dodie, passed away on Friday, June 3rd, 2022 at the age of 86 surrounded by her beloved children and a goodbye from her grandchildren just two days before her 87th birthday. Dodie was born in Culver City, California in 1935. She later moved to Fresno her senior year of high school and graduated from Fresno High in 1953. Following high school, Dodie attended Fresno State College where she was a member of Alpha Zi Delta Sorority and received her teaching credential in 1957.

Following college, Dodie taught Physical Education at Fresno High before marrying Sherman Thomas. Sherman was a member of a prominent Westside Farming family. Together they had two children, Terri and Clay Thomas and resided in Firebaugh, CA. After the untimely death of Sherman, Dodie, Terri, and Clay moved back to Fresno where she later married Patrick J. Mon Pere, founder of Patrick James Menswear. In the early years of the men’s clothing store chain, Dodie often would be seen lending a helping hand in the original store in Fig Garden Village.

Donna June Autry (83)

Donna June Autry (83) passed away suddenly on the morning of May 28, 2022 at St. Agnes Hospital, surrounded by family and loved ones. She was born July 27, 1938 in Bristow, Oklahoma, to Finies and Hazel Berkley. She joined her older brother, Ovonual, and was later joined by her sister, Linda.

She was a loving mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She married Lee Ray Autry in 1953, and they had 3 sons – Keith Ray in 1954, Ricky Lee in 1957, and Ronnie Wayne in 1959. Donna and Lee Ray parted ways in 1976. Donna was in a long-term relationship with Ray Bopp, who passed away in 2008.

Michael A Logoluso, Sr. (75)

Michael A Logoluso, Sr. (75) passed away peacefully to be with the Lord on the morning of June 6, 2022. Michael was born in Madera, CA on March 6, 1947 to Tony M. and Maxine M. Logoluso where he was raised on the family farm with his younger siblings. He attended Ripperdan Elementary School and graduated from Madera High School in 1965. Michael attended Reedley College before farming full time with his father and later establishing his own farming operation. He enjoyed raising grapes for cannery, wine and raisins before retiring in 2012.

Michael is survived by his two children, Michael A. Logoluso Jr. and his wife Kristi of Fresno, CA; and Michelle Hunter and her husband Scott of Atwater, CA. He is the grandfather to Macy and Morgan Logoluso; and Mitch, Zach and Ellery Hunter. He is also survived by his sister Suzanne Linder and her husband Milton; and brother Rick Logoluso and companion Palmira Braga, all residing in Madera, CA.

Kaylee Ann Evison (28)

Kaylee Evison (28) born on June 25 1993 and passed away on June 2 2022. Kaylee was born and raised in Madera, California. She is survived by her Mother Kristi Gonzales and Father Ronald Evison, sister Miranna Evison, younger brother Noah Evison and Grandmothers Pamela Lowery and Judy Counterman. She is preceded in death by her aunt Stella Gonzales. Kaylee leaves behind numerous aunts and uncles and cousins who love her dearly.

Anyone who knew Kaylee knows that she was an extremely talented and passionate makeup artist. Kaylee graduated with honors from Paul Mitchell. She was also in the works to getting her Esthetician license. You could count on all things beauty when it came to Kaylee. In her free time, she enjoyed going to concerts, her favorite city San Francisco, which she also did all throughout her childhood with her mother, Kristi. She also spent a lot of time with her family. She loved going to her aunt Jodi's and spending time with her cousins Breana, Tristan and Josh.