Obituary of Marcelle Diane Castro Bilan

Marcelle Diane Castro, 59 years of age, passed away on January 25th, 2023. Marcelle was born May 26th, 1963 the second youngest daughter of six to Martin & Alice Bilan. She is survived by her loving husband Jeff, her adoring son Nolan & daughter-in-law Ashlyn, her five sisters and brother-in-laws, Lora & Ivo Jevoich, Susie & Fred Kirch, Marie & Steve Thomas, Tina Skow & Dave Gardner, Brenda & Dave Coates, her aunts Lucille Deretich & Nancy Melton. Marcelle leaves behind numerous beloved nieces & nephews. She was so loved by countless cousins and friends. Marcelle graduated in the class of 1981 from Gilroy High School. Marcelle first met her husband Jeff in 1983 at Amycel where they had worked together in the production of growing mushrooms. They got married August 31st of 1991. Soon after they had their first and only child, their son Nolan, on October 23rd of 1992. Marcelle was gifted in her skill of agriculture which she was very passionate about as she followed in the footsteps of her father Martin. Through her journey of agriculture, after Amycel she worked as a Seed Enhancement Supervisor at Sakata, then moved on to Monsanto where she was an Assistant Onion Breeder until she retired November 30th, 2022. Marcelle loved to spend her free time going camping in her’s & Jeff’s toy hauler at many various places in which some of her favorites were Pismo Beach, Lake Nacimiento & Hollister Hills. She loved riding her quad in the mild trails, or what her family calls “Marcy’s Trail,” of Hollister Hills and cruised up & down the shore of Pismo Beach, and at these places shared such great times with her family & friends. Her frequent pass time was lake fishing whether it was on the shore or taken out on the open water by Jeff in their Nitro Bass boat. One of the very many admirable traits about Marcelle was that she never hesitated to bring to life any idea she had in her mind, like learning to play the banjo which she had started in 2022. Her loving soul, kind heart, hardworking mentality and fun loving personality will never be forgotten by the ones who love her. Marcelle’s funeral service will be held at Grunnagle Funeral Home at 10:00am to 12:00pm, then a procession to Calvary Cemetery. There will be a reception to follow at the VFW Hall in San Juan Bautista.