Harry H. Minnich

<p>Harry H. Minnich was passionate about genealogy and history, and for years enjoyed gathering regularly with friends for coffee in Sebastopol.</p><p>Minnich, a resident of Sonoma County for 32 years, died Saturday at his home near Sebastopol. He was 69 and died of complications due to emphysema.</p><p>His wife of 48 years, Ginger Minnich, said her husband was a quiet, peaceful man who loved being a father and grandfather and who spent years at cemeteries, libraries and genealogical societies in search of his family's history. In his searches around the U.S., he located the names of ancestors who served as soldiers in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars.</p><p>“He felt it was important to dig up this history to leave a legacy for his children,” said Ginger Minnich.</p><p>A native of Illinois, Minnich joined the U.S. Navy at age 17. He served as a fireman specializing in damage control on the ammunition ship USS Pyro from 1959 to 1962.</p><p>While stationed at Port Chicago near Concord he met his future wife on a group blind date. The couple married on June 16, 1962, a month after his discharge from the Navy.</p><p>Minnich worked 30 years for Pacific Gas & Electric Co., eventually as a warehouse supervisor.</p><p>He typically wore a cowboy hat and boots, and on rainy days a full-length “duster” coat designed for a man on horseback.</p><p>For more than a dozen years he regularly had his morning coffee at an outside table at Carr's Drive In in Forestville.</p><p>And for more than 30 years he regularly gathered with friends for coffee in the afternoon or evening at various restaurants in Sebastopol. The group had met at Mary's Pizza for about the past 15 years.</p><p>In retirement, the Minnichs made it to all 48 contiguous states in their truck and travel trailer. Some of their trips were made with the Ready Rovers, a group of retired PG&E employees.</p><p>The couple helped provide care for their six grandchildren from infancy until each was ready to advance to day care.</p><p>Minnich obtained his private pilot's license, played the guitar and enjoyed model railroads and restoring classic Ford Mustangs.</p><p>He was a member of the USS Pyro Association, the National Rifle Association and the Good Sam Club.</p><p>Along with his wife and grandchildren, survivors include his three daughters, Vickie Holden and Deanna Mori, both of Forestville, and Nancy Magner of Redding; and by siblings John Minnich and Martha O'Connor, both of Illinois, Nancy Pease and Marie Lehner, both of Tennessee, and Russell Minnich of Wisconsin.</p><p>A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Aug. 28<NO1>(co-sat.)<NO> at the Forestville Methodist Church. The family plans to bury his ashes next summer near the graves of his parents and a sister in Manteno, Ill.</p>