Beloved by family and friends, Ursula Charlotte (Zentgraf) Romeo passed away peacefully on October 2, 2021, at Pacifica Senior Living in San Leandro, California, after a long illness. She was 91 years old and joins her husband Rocky in the presence of Our Lord.
Ursula was born in Ilmenau, East Germany, on May 22, 1930, to Kurt and Maria (Blum) Zentgraf. The family escaped East Germany and made their home in Frankfurt, West Germany. Her father started a glass blowing business which evolved into the company known today as Neon Zentgraf.
During the difficult years of World War II, a young American soldier patrolling her street quickly fell in love with the beautiful girl who spoke to him as she looked down from her window. Theirs was a love story not to be matched. After the war, the young soldier—Rocco Vincent Romeo—returned to Germany in 1949. He and Ursula were married there. She was 19 years old. They returned to America and were very devoted to each other until his death in 1989.
Rocky and Ursula made a good team as they built Rocky’s fine carpentry business, They purchased and sold several homes in northern California which they enjoyed remodeling. She was very much a part of his business success and also worked at Mother’s Cookies for many years. They loved to travel, making many trips both in the United States and Europe, especially Germany to visit her family. On one trip, she was happy to be reunited with relatives in East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Ursula was very talented in the needlework arts and other crafts, using her skills in sewing, crochet, embroidery, etc. to decorate her home and make treasured gifts for family and friends. She was a good cook and learned Italian cooking from her mother-in-law as a young bride. She and Rocky eventually designed and built their dream home in San Leandro. She never shied away from hard work—referring to herself as a “strong German”—and was known to even make repairs to her own roof!
Her home was always a place of warm welcome to family and friends. She was very fond of all her nieces and nephews, keeping in touch with them through the years and sharing their joys as their own families grew. She was a devout Catholic convert with unwavering faith till the end and a long-time parishioner of St. Leander’s. There she had several dear friends, including Jerry Dorn who visited her often in her final months. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.
Ursula was predeceased by her parents, Kurt and Maria Zentgraf, her husband Rocco Romeo, her brother Heinz Zentgraf and wife Helga; also sisters-in-law Maria Chatigny (Maurice), Concetta Filomeno (Anthony), Julia Bonafede (Tony), and brother-in-law Joseph Romeo (Muriel).
She is survived by her dear brother Dieter Zentgraf (Waltrud) of Germany, nephews Klaus Zentgraf (Sabrina) and Dirk Zentgraf, all of Germany, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and their families in the United States. She is also survived by brother-in-law Anthony Romeo (Barbara) of Henderson, Nevada.
The family thanks all the staff of Pacifica Senior Living, especially Nancy, Lai, Jennifer, and Gladys as well as Suncrest Hospice. Her needs, support, and care were lovingly provided by family in her final years.
Donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, a charity Ursula supported. A memorial prayer service and final blessing will be October 21 at 10 a.m., Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 1051 Harder Rd., Hayward CA 94542.
