Evelyn (Evie) Vetterlein Wozniak, passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 20, one week after celebrating her 86th birthday.
Born to Katharine and Theodore Vetterlein on Sept. 13, 1939, in Providence, Rhode Island, Evie grew up in Barrington, Rhode Island, on Narragansett Bay, where she learned to love the sea and its bounty. On her mother’s side, Evie traced her ancestry back to William Brewster, who came over on the Mayflower. On her father’s side, Evie was related to Antonietta Cornelia Vetterlein, who was a Bavarian beauty of the 19th century. In 1828, King Ludwig I commissioned a portrait of Cornelia for his Gallery of Beauties collection in his palace in Munich.
After studying International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania and San Francisco State University, Evie focused on Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. In 1967, she traveled to Indonesia to do field work for her graduate degree. For a year, she traveled extensively in Java with an Indonesian woman who didn’t speak English, so Evie became fluent in Bahasa Indonesia.
In Sumatra, Evie traveled upriver, by herself, for a week. She was on a World War II landing barge with 90 Indonesian passengers. The only lodging available at the overnight stops was a cot in the Headman’s cottage. With no indoor plumbing available, Evie bathed in the river and often drew a crowd, many of whom had never seen a white person before.
During her travels, Evie made many Indonesian friends who later visited her in Berkeley. She returned to explore Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi and the Spice Islands. On one memorable occasion, Evie attended the wedding of her oldest friend’s daughter, Savitri, as a guest of the bride’s family.
Returning from Indonesia, Evie devoted her energy to political organizing and public service. In 1971, she was a legislative aide to Berkeley City Councilwoman Loni Hancock working to increase recreational opportunities at the Berkeley Marina and creating the Charlie Dorr mini-park in West Berkeley.
From 1975 to 1982, Evie served on the Berkeley Waterfront Advisory Board, where she championed a state bill carried by Assemblyman Tom Bates. It allowed excess Marina Fund revenues to be used for non-boating programs including Berkeley’s Adventure Playground. In 1982, Evie was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the state’s Boating and Waterways Commission. She also served on the boards of the Aurora Theatre and the Junior Center for Art & Science and supported the Aurora and Berkeley Repertory theaters.
On Valentine’s Day in 1970, Evie met her soulmate, Gordon Wozniak, while participating in a voter registration drive in Oakland for an antiwar candidate named Ron Dellums. On July 1, 1971, they were married in their backyard in Kensington.
On her honeymoon in St. Maarten, Evie asked why locals were banned from the beach in front of the hotel. The manager responded that he didn’t like her type and asked that she and Gordon leave. The next day, they took the ferry to Anguilla, where everyone was welcome at the beautiful beaches.
As a full-time mother, Evie was deeply involved in David and Karla’s carpools, play groups and as an aide at their schools. Evie doted on her children and grandchildren and was blessed to have them live nearby. She insisted on seeing her grandkids regularly and was always ready to babysit when there was a school holiday or the parents needed a night out. Holiday celebrations were very special and family dinners brought her great joy.
She enjoyed many sports: backpacking, snorkeling, swimming and tennis. She ran the Bay to Breakers and the Bonne Bell 10Ks. She biked around San Francisco Bay, across Iowa, around the South Island of New Zealand and all through France. She hiked the John Muir Trail and climbed Mt Whitney. She went scuba diving in Bonaire, Roatan and the Great Barrier Reef and was an avid downhill and cross-country skier.
During COVID, Evie developed a painful spinal infection that hospitalized her for six weeks. After her release, her Parkinson’s and multiple myeloma worsened. During the next six years, Evie worked hard to maintain her strength and balance through weekly physical therapy sessions and boxing and dance movement classes. During these difficult times, Evie’s longtime friends supported her by taking her to lunch, dropping by unexpectedly or texting, which bolstered her spirits.
Evie is survived by her husband, former Berkeley City Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, her two children Karla and David Wozniak, her three grandchildren Riley, Rowan and Maisie Wozniak, her brother Ted Vetterlein, 16 nieces and nephews, and many dear friends!
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