After 85 wonderful years of life, heaven welcomed Loretta home on July 15, 2024. Loving matriarch of her family and dear friend to many, Loretta lived a life as unique and vibrant as she was.

Born December 19, 1938 to Louis and Edith Solari, Loretta was raised in San Jose with her two sisters, Anita and Linda. She attended Notre Dame high school and the college of Notre Dame in Belmont, making lifelong friends affectionately called the "Ya-ya girls".

She met her husband Jim Wilson in 1955. Two years later, they were married at St. Patrick's Church, and soon after welcomed their three children: Julie, Jill, and Jimmy. Loretta and Jim moved to Morgan Hill in 1961 to raise their family. There, she ran the Farm Labor Office in Morgan Hill, and later owned and operated Flowers by Wilson for over 30 years just yards from their home.

Raising kids was a new adventure for her and Jim and they made the most out of what they had. Loretta dropped the kids off to pick fruit alongside local farm workers hoping to instill in them a good work ethic and earn themselves some spending money.

Wanting to share her faith with her family, Loretta ensured the kids attended mass with her on Sundays. In the 70s, Jim joined the Christian faith and together they hosted bible studies and early morning prayer groups.

Once their children were grown and Jim had retired, they began traveling more, including cross country road trips with their friends to Alaska, Chicago, Texas, New Orleans and Branson, Missouri. One Christmas they also generously gifted a family trip to Mexico with all their kids and their spouses and the first 3 grandchildren.

Despite the loss of her husband Jim in 2005, Loretta continued to make the most of life, taking on a multitude of hobbies including gardening, reading, writing, and painting on gourds, tiles, purses and more. Her avid reading sparked a desire to become an author, and in 2014, she published You Take the High Road: a Love Story and later Travel on Down the Road, for which she received the Gertrude Gale Award from the Valley Writers Guild. She went on to write Below Gobbler's Nob as well as a children's book and several short stories, including one about Snort, one of 3 family tortoises. Each story was inspired by her life and family, but in her own words, "As with most novels, [these have] some fiction, but [are] mostly the truth."

Throughout her life, Loretta was a devout Catholic and attended weekly mass and bible study at St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Morgan Hill. She never hesitated to extend a helping hand or welcome others into her home, always quick to offer a cup of coffee to anyone who found themselves on one of her kitchen stools. She also had an active presence in her community; volunteering often, being a valued member of Women in Touch, and serving for a period of time on the council of the Italian Catholic Federation, of which she was a long-time member.

Above all, Loretta's greatest joy was being with her family. And in her later years, being  grandma, gramma-ma'ams, or granny goose to her grandchildren and great grandchildren was a role she cherished. She made many visits to school with them: bringing the tortoises to visit preschool show-and-tell, attending Grandparent's Day masses, teaching kindergarteners to arrange flowers, and watching their sports games or theater productions. Come summertime, she piled the grandchildren in the car to head to Capitola and Santa Cruz beaches, spent time with them in her garden to pass on her green thumb, and taught them to arrange flowers to enter in the county fair. Many blue ribbons were won, of course!

Her family cherishes these memories and more from countless road trips to national parks, birthdays, and holidays. Notably, the tradition of spending Christmas Eve in her living room, where for many years she directed her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews in Christmas pageants for family and friends — always closing the show with reading the nativity story from her Bible.

Loretta was a living example of hard work, charity, kindness, and love, keeping faith, friendship and family at the core: a legacy her family hopes to live up to and carry into the future.

Loretta is survived by her adoring family: daughter Julie Fellows (Ken) of Morgan Hill, daughter Jill Britton of Gilroy and son Jim Wilson (Christie) of Morgan Hill, 10 amazing grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. Sisters, Anita Solari, and Linda Evans (Dale), and loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by the love of her life and husband of 48 years Jim Wilson and son-in-law Steve Britton.

Friends and family are invited to a visitation on Thursday July 25, 5pm to 9pm with a eulogy of Loretta's life at 6pm at Habing Funeral home 129 4th Street in Gilroy and a funeral service Friday July 26 at 2pm at St. Catherine Church, 17400 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill. Burial to follow at Mount Hope Cemetery on Spring Avenue in Morgan Hill.