It is with sadness that the family of Jonie Sciaini announces her passing on August 11, 2026, at Hidden Valley Lake. Jonie was born to Robert and Janice Sciaini of Cloverdale on April 10, 1958. She was welcomed to the family by her sisters, Cathy, Barbara and Mary Ann.
Jonie lived in Cloverdale all her life and made many lifelong friends. She attended Cloverdale schools and spent much of her childhood riding horses. Her love of horses led her, in later life, to create a business she called Jonie’s Ponies, where she offered birthday parties for children and gave them horseback rides around her ranch.
Jonie raised two daughters, Christie and Kaysha, on her River Road property outside of Cloverdale.
During her life, Jonie owned and operated Jonie’s Upholstery in Cloverdale for over 25 years. She also managed the Grapevine Bar and bartended at the Dante for many years. For several years after she retired from the upholstery business, she worked at River Rock Casino where she made many lasting friends.
Later in her life she owned, managed and worked a vineyard on River Road. She taught herself how to care for the vines, hire employees and negotiate contracts
with wineries.
A hard worker, Jonie was a strong woman, physically and mentally, and made the best of any situation. Loyal and straightforward, she was always there to help and support her friends and family. She was multi-talented, inventive and faced her challenges head on. When she found out that she had cancer, she fought it for nearly two years with the strength she had shown throughout her life. In the end she lost that final battle.
Jonie is survived by her two loving daughters, Christie and husband James Derenia, and Kaysha and partner Jared Zucker. She also is survived by four grandchildren, Wyatt and Logan Derenia and Pierce and Kya Zucker and her sisters Cathy Sciaini, Barbara Holmes and Mary Ann Hoffman, stepsister Denaire and husband Mike Nixon and her stepmother Sydney Sciaini.
Family and friends are invited to attend a celebration of Jonie’s life at the Cloverdale City Park on September 26 from 11 am to 3 pm.
Donations in her memory can be made to Courtney’s Pumpkin Patch.

by David Maciel
Sponsored by Ray’s Food Place, Furber Plaza 
September is the start of autumn. Shorter days and cooler nights. It’s also the start of belly warming comfort foods for me. This veggie and rice-based soup is perfect for an evening meal. ​

Ingredients
• 6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 large (about 1 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ½ tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 large handfuls of kale, roughly chopped with thick stems removed
• fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Instructions
Sauté the veggies. Heat (an extra) 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.

Add base ingredients. Add in the vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato, bay leaf and Old Bay seasoning. Stir to combine.

Simmer. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

Add final ingredients. Add the coconut milk and kale to the soup and stir gently until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper (plus any extra Old Bay seasoning, if you would like) as needed.