Last living survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake dies

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Jeanette Scola Trapani, who is believed to be the oldest survivor of the 1906 San Francisco fire and earthquake, died at her home in El Dorado Hills on Monday. Mrs. Trapani had suffered from pneumonia and the infirmities of old age. She was 107.

Though she was only 4 years old at the time of the earthquake, she had clear memories of the disaster, said her daughter, Dolores Legge.

"She vividly remembered the terrible smell of the smoke from the burning city and how she and her family had to live in a tent in the Presidio," Legge said.

Mrs. Trapani was a third-generation San Franciscan, born on Telegraph Hill on April 21, 1902. She was raised in the city, developed an interest in music and earned her living by giving private piano lessons.

She married Vincent Trapani in St. Vincent de Paul Church in San Francisco's Cow Hollow in 1929, and they remained married until his death in 1996.

Vincent Trapani was in the beverage business, and the couple lived in Southern California for many years. They moved back to the Bay Area in 1976 and lived in Walnut Creek.

Mrs. Trapani was active in Catholic charities, particularly the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma and St. Boniface Church in San Francisco.

She drove until she was 100 years old, and in an interview in February, she told The Chronicle that she enjoyed a glass of wine every night.

Mrs. Trapani moved to El Dorado Hills, near Sacramento, in 2006 to be near her daughter.

"She was a wonderful, wonderful lady," Legge said.

Mrs. Trapani is survived by her daughter, Dolores Legge; four grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

A vigil service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at Halsted N. Gray-Carew and English funeral home at 1123 Sutter St., San Francisco. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:15 a.m. Monday at St. Vincent de Paul Church, Green and Steiner streets.

"My mother was married in that church," Legge said. "We wanted to bring her back to San Francisco."