Survivor of 1906 San Francisco quake dies at age 107

Survivor of 1906 SF quake dies at age 107

SAN FRANCISCO — Jeanette Scola Trapani, one of the oldest survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, has died at age 107.

Dolores Legge told the San Francisco Chronicle that her mother had been suffering from pneumonia and passed away at her home in El Dorado Hills on Monday.

Trapani had clear memories of the disaster, even though she was only four years old at the time, Legge said.

“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.

The April 18 cataclysmic quake was followed by days of fire that left much of San Francisco in ruin.

Trapani was born on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill on April 21, 1902 and she was raised in the city. She married Vincent Trapani in 1929, and they remained married until his death in 1996.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Monday at St. Vincent de Paul Church.

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

Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com/chronicle