Bianca Gola, 83; Active Resident

Bianca Angela Gola, a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, died peacefully in her sleep on April 20. She was 83. Bianca, whose family was originally from Milan, Italy, was born in Shan-hai-quan (Shanhaiguan) in northeast China on March 31, 1921. The family moved to Tientsin (Tianjin) when her father became the Italian consul for that province. Bianca attended the British School, where she made many lifelong friends. She met her husband, Aristide (Silvio) Gola, at the Italian Club in Tientsin when he was visiting from Peking (Beijing), where he was an Italian naval officer assigned to the consulate. During World War II, when the Japanese occupied China, Bianca, Silvio and her family were detained and unable to leave the country. After the war was over, Bianca and Silvio were married in Tientsin. They moved to the United States with their baby son, Adrian, in 1949. The Golas moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1960. Silvio went to work for Systems Development Corporation, a branch of The Rand Corporation, while Bianca began a long career as an administrative assistant at UCLA in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. She retired from UCLA after more than 30 years of service. Bianca (known to friends and family as ‘B’) was active in the Palisades community as a member of the Corpus Christi Christian Service Committee for many years and as an usher at the church until weeks before her death. She was a member of the CROP Hunger Walk Committee for over 20 years. In addition to her husband of 54 years, Bianca is survived by her son, Adrian of Los Angeles; sister Yolanda Martinella; several cousins and an aunt in Milan, Italy. A funeral mass was held on April 26 at Corpus Christi Church. There will be a private interment at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Donations can be made in Bianca Gola’s name to benefit the Palisades Hunger Walk at: Church World Service, 2235 N. Lake Ave., Suite 211, Altadena, Ca, 91001.