Molly FlemingRAESIDEMarch 31, 1927 - June 5, 2022 Molly F. Raeside, born Smollett Fleming Nugent, aged 95 years, a native of Renton, Scotland and long-time resident of Pleasant Hill, California, loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunt peacefully passed away in Sacramento, California on Sunday June 5th, 2022. Molly left Scotland in 1952 and visited many exotic places with her husband Jim through his work. From 1952 to 1958 they resided in Hong Kong, Japan, and then back to Scotland for a year. In 1959 they immigrated to Queens, New York, from there moved to Bellevue, Washington and eventually to sunny and warm California. With all these moves she was the one that kept the family close. Molly continued as a world traveler until her mid 80s, visiting family and friends in Australia and Scotland; and one of her favorite places - Maui, Hawaii. She was a great letter writer and constantly in contact with loved ones from around the world. She had a pen pal from World War II that she still wrote to until the early 2000s. When email became the way to stay in touch, she learned how to use a computer in her 70s and continued her communications with family and friends. She was a No Surrender Gal. Once her children were in school, she worked in the cafeterias at Phantom Lake Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington and in Mt. Diablo Unified School District in Contra Costa County California. She loved the camaraderie of her co-workers and made many lifelong friends. Eventually she volunteered in primary classrooms as a teacher helper at the old Diablo Vista Elementary School in Pleasant Hill for many years. For 25 years she worked as a secretary in her husband's business, James Raeside Company-Marine Surveyors and Engineers. Family was of number one importance to Molly. She leaves behind her daughter Wilma Hoppe (Scott); sons James Jr. and John (Corrie); grandchildren Brooke Tenenbaum (Roy), Megan Torres (Benito Jr.), Christopher Raeside (Shauna), Sean Raeside, and Michael Raeside; great-granddaughter Juliana Rose Tenenbaum; and her many Nugent and Raeside nieces and nephews. Molly was a dedicated lifetime member of the Order of the Eastern Star. In 1946, she joined the Alexandria Chapter in Alexandria, Scotland. Once she moved to California she joined the Almona Chapter of Walnut Creek in 1970 and continued her membership in 2006 when the Chapter consolidated with the Diablo Star Chapter of Orinda, California. She was a member for 76 years. Molly joins her loving husband, James Raeside Sr., who she lost after 53 years of marriage on May 16, 2005. She is predeceased by her parents Wilhelmina and John Nugent; brothers Billy, John (Doreen), Alex (Ann), Bobby (Terry), and Tom (Christine). She was very proud of her Scottish heritage and considered herself a lifelong Renton Lassie. She had a good sense of humor and loved a good joke. When asked where she was from because of her accent, she would jokingly say "Pleasant Hill, California." She will be greatly missed as the long-standing matriarch of our family, or as she would say "of the clan." No services at her request. Ashes to be scattered in the San Francisco Bay so she can be laid to rest with her husband. I think this Renton Lassie would agree that she enjoyed a life well-lived.
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