Published in the Lake County Record-Bee on 1/13/2007. Lakeport CA RALPH AND EILEEN OPTIZ Ralph and Eileen Optiz died together on December 19, 206 at home. Residents of Lake County for the past 28 years, they resided in Lower Lake. The had been together since 1971. Ralph was born Ralph Emory Optiz, on Marh 17, 1942 in San Rafael, was formerly of Marin County. He served in the army and later worked as a maintenance supervisor for 20 years for the Konocti Unified School District. He was an avid hunter an fisherman and will be remembered as a loving husband and father. Eileen was born Eileen Ellen Lake on July 24, 1928, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She worked as a legal secretary for Leary & Lake Investigators of San Francisco and other law firms for 30 years. She loved to collect things, to sew and do scrapbooks and will be remembered for being a great mom and grandma. Ralph and Eileen are survived by their daughter, Diane Ambrocio and her husband Jose, of Hood River, Ore.; son, Dan Tiedemann and his wife, Lisa, of Virginia Beach, Va.; eight grandchildren, Dennis, Heather, Jillianne and Tony Wagner and Jesse, Chicoby and Richard Abrocio - all of Hood River, and Haley and Lisa Tiedemann - both of Virginia Beach; and three great-grandchildren, Domenic Lane, Ashley Wagner, and Cassandra Karns - all of Hood River. Ralph is also survived by his sister, Elaine Corvin of Huntsville, Ala; and Eileen leaves behind two brothers, Melvin Lake of Texas and Vernon Lake and his wife, Judy, of Iowa. A Memorial Service will be held to honor and remember Ralph and Eileen at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17 at Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel, 16140 Main St. in Lower Lake. At a later date, they will be laid to rest, together, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Donations may be made on their behalf to Hospice Services of Lake County, 1717 So. Main St., Lakeport, CA 95453. Arraingements entrusted to Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel, Lower Lake. Press Democrat Santa Rosa, CA Friday December 22, 2006 Lower Lake Man kills ailing wife, self Note cites woman's cancer, pain in apparent mercy killing/suicide By Glenda Andrson The Press Democrat A Lower Lake man shot his ailing wife and then himself in an apparent mercy killing/suicide, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said the shooter, Ralphe Emory Optiz, 64, left a note saying that his wife, Eileen Optiz, 78 was dying from cancer and in extreme pain. The note said the decision to die was mutual, said Sheriff's Lt. Patrick McMahon. Deputies found the couple at their Ellen Springs Court home early Tuesday morning after a concerned relative in Oregon phoned police, he said. Eillen Pitz was in a hospital bed and her husband was lying next to the bed, McMahon said. There were no signs of a struggle, he said Each had been shot once in the head with a .357-calibur revolver, McMahon said. Just before the shooting Ralph Optiz had called a family member in Oregon, saying his wife was dying and that he was going with her, McMahon said. Deputies found evidence at the home that confirmed Eileen Optiz was terminally ill and had been under hospice care, he said. The couple is not believed to have had family in the area and neighbors who lived in the half-acre minumum subdivision near the Optizes' home were not familiar with them, McMahon said. He said he did not know how long the couple had lived in Lake County. NOTES - You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or ganderson@pressdemocrat.com The article says Pitz, when I think they meant Optiz.