April 18, 1917 - July 18, 2018 Jewel Myrick born April 18, 1917 died peacefully in her sleep on July 18, 2018. Born in St. Helena, California to Edith and Thomas Myrick. She was educated at home until her grandmother Sarah decided to build a schoolhouse for all the children on Spring Mountain. While at school, Jewel would help the Italian children learn English. As a young girl she helped around the ranch taking care of the chickens and flowers selling the flowers and eggs in town. She would also help with drying the fruit grown on the property as well as gathering and shelling the walnuts. Both her home and barn on the ranch were built using timber gathered from the family’s homesteaded 160-acre property and built entirely by family and friends that lived on the mountain. Jewel attended St. Helena High School graduating in 1935 with well known St. Helenan’s like Ramona Beringer, Edna May “Babe” McCormick Learned, Martha Jane Beringer Raymond, and Guytano Paul “Guy” Sculatti. She was the last surviving member of her class. After studying business at Empire College, Jewel spent her adult life as a savvy business woman buying and selling real estate all over Northern California and Western Nevada. Jewel always had a 6th sense for property often buying undervalued properties that later turned a huge profit when the likes of Cattleman wanted to build a restaurant on just such a site as the one Jewel happened to own outside Truckee, CA. She owned and operated a restaurant in Vallejo, a gas station and gift shop outside Squaw Valley during the 1960 Olympics, a beauty salon in Santa Rosa, a donut shop in Truckee, all the while keeping true to her upbringing by canning her own fruit, cracking her own walnuts, and sewing her own clothes. Jewel was proceeded in death by her husband Ernie Riley. She is survived by her stepson Keith Riley, (Mary), and her two cousins Thomas “Tommy” Wilson (Carol) and Robert “Bob” Wilson. As per Jewel’s request, a private ceremony will be held on Spring Mountain where she will return home for one last time.
