Oct. 16, 1929 — Feb. 17, 2012

Al John DaMassa passed away Feb. 17, 2012, after a long illness. He was born Oct. 16, 1929, near Lucca, Italy, to Paul and Maria DaMassa. He was 82 years old.

He came to the United States in 1938 at age 8 and spent his childhood in Oroville. He went through the public schools in Oroville and later obtained college degrees at Chico State University  and UC Davis.

In 1951 he married Kathryn Layman. They raised three children, John DaMassa, Deborah Gravink and Teresa Brown.

They moved to Davis in 1956 where he enrolled at UC Davis. There he earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in comparative pathology within the School of Veterinary Medicine. He held non-academic and academic titles within the school. His expertise was in the field of animal mycoplasmology and he authored more than 100 publications on the subject published in major scientific journals.

Al is survived by his children, John DaMassa and wife Marci, Deborah Gravink and husband Steven, and Teresa Brown and husband Ron; and grandchildren Kiel and Samuel DaMassa, Christopher and Nicholas Gravink, and Bryan and Haley Brown. He was preceded in death by his wife of 43 years, Kathryn DaMassa.

A funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Wiscombe Funeral Home, 116 D St. in downtown Davis, followed by a graveside service at Davis Cemetery, 820 Pole Line Road.

Contributions may be sent to a favorite charity.

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