Julianne Marlene Di Virgilio

Julianne Marlene Di Virgilio was born at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA on July 30, 1969, to Jean Marie Di Virgilio and Robert Hicks. She weighed approximately 6 ½ pounds and was 20 inches long. She was a very happy baby and always slept well through the night.

Julianne grew up in Sunnyvale, California, surrounded by lots of friends and family. As a young girl, Julie enjoyed various arts and crafts including drawing, painting, crocheting, and making collages with photos of friends and magazine clippings. She attended schools in Sunnyvale, California, and made many life-long friends along the way.

As a teen, Julie enjoyed reading, journaling and writing poetry. She had an extreme love for music and even as of late, could name just about any song or artist on the radio, new or old. In her free time, she spent much time with friends and her huge family, which meant the world to her. She loved her aunts and uncles very much; Marlene and Stephen Tarigo, Karolynn and Kenneth Potter, Patsy Cranston, and Robert and Elizabeth Di Virgilio.

When she was 14, she was so excited when her sister, Rheanna, was born! She soon became like a second Mom to her. She would sing and rock her to sleep near the jukebox at night and would pretend as if she was her own. As a young adult, Julie met Jeffrey Bernhardt, they fell in love and married on July 8, 1989, in Lake Tahoe.

Julie worked as an administrative assistant in the construction industry for many years. On April 13, 1992, their first son, Jacob Alexander, was born. On February 28, 1996, their second son, Joseph Alfio, was born. The two parents could not have been happier. They loved baseball, and the proud parents spent most of their time coaching and attending the boys' games. They had a black cat named Maggie May (one of her favorite Rod Stewart songs) and a Chocolate Lab named Cocoa. They lived in Santa Clara, California, until the boys got older and Julie decided to move to Santa Cruz, a place she always loved to visit. She lived there for many years and enjoyed the simple life with a beautiful view. She was somewhat of a free spirit who appreciated the artistic and unique culture of Santa Cruz. She often said that this is where she found peace of mind.

Around 2016, Julie moved to Granite Bay, California with her dog, Bella to live closer to family. In 2017, Julie started volunteering at the Folsom Veterans Hall. There, she joined the VFW Auxiliary where she often helped with local activities for veterans. She volunteered her time at multiple fundraising events. She decided to go back to school to receive certification in drug and alcohol counseling because she wanted to help people. For many months while she was in school, Julie spent her time working on an internship helping local veterans with substance abuse problems. Upon graduation, she worked for a local rehabilitation facility for a few months before they were no longer in business. In her free time, Julie enjoyed spending time with her dog Bella and going for walks to Folsom Lake. In July 2019, Julie celebrated her 50th birthday with lots of pineapple upside down cake and many friends and family to enjoy it with her.

In March 2020, Julie was diagnosed with Stage 4 Liver Cancer. She was surrounded with love and care from family and friends. She received so many cards, gifts and letters of encouragement. In July, she found out that she was going to be a Grandmother for the first time. In fact, both of her boys were having babies! She was ecstatic and immediately started planning. In August, she found out that Joey and Porsche were having a boy, due in January. And she also found out that Jacob and Lauren were having TWINS, due in March! A boy and a girl! She could not have been more grateful, and that was all she talked about.

As time went on, she continued her chemotherapy treatments and kept up her positive fighting spirit. She even re-enrolled in school taking online classes to keep her mind busy and fresh. She never gave up hope and continued to focus on family and close friends and what was most important to her.

Julianne is loved by so many people in her life and will live on forever on our minds and in our hearts.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE:

Date: Saturday, November 14

Location: Jeanie's House
7420 Red Bud Rd
Granite Bay, CA 95746

COVID Friendly Family Time: 2:00 - 5:00 PM
Friends and Family time - 5:00 PM - ?

We will have food and drinks while we celebrate Julie's life.


FLOWERS:

**Please send any flowers for the celebration to:

7420 Red Bud Rd
Granite Bay, CA 95746

If you have any questions, please contact Jeanie at (916) 666-9094.