Anne Bradley Ventresco's Obituary
Anne Bradley Ventresco (nee Ohlman, Odegard) born 1949, Oakland, California; Died September 2025, in Oakland, California. Anne was raised in Piedmont, California, in the loving home of her adoptive parents John and Helen Odegard. She graduated from Piedmont High School then went on to pursue her passion for sewing and textiles. She began sewing her designs and selling them through consignment boutiques in Berkeley. During that time she met her future husband, Tom, and soon opened her own boutique “As You Like It” on College Avenue in Oakland with two other seamstresses. After that she and Tom started their family with the birth of their first son Nicholas, followed two and a half years later by Anthony.
Anne continued to sew when the boys were young, creating a series of fabulous Halloween costumes for them while still finding the time to volunteer at school and scouts and to work on her professional designs. As the boys grew older she returned to sewing professionally as she initiated her custom alterations business, primarily serving women’s needs for professional and formal wear. Eventually that evolved into her bridal-focused sewing practice of the last thirty-plus years of her career.
In her wedding-related sewing she found her greatest joy. Artistically transforming off-the shelf dresses or family heirlooms or creating from whole cloth designs she developed in collaboration with “her” brides. Her work was impeccable; she would not tolerate anything but flawless attention to the smallest detail. And her services were justly in full demand up until she decided it was time to retire during the time of the Pandemic.
It was a life full of creativity. After she retired from her bridal business she took up making quilts to donate to healthcare facilities for children. She was also passionate about gardening and cooking; her family ate well.
Anne is survived by her husband of 50 years, Thomas; sons Nicholas (Acacia) and Anthony (Norma Wendy), and five grandchildren; by her brother Greg Odegard (Rhonda) and niece Heather; and by Aunt Carol, Uncle Anthony, sister Penny (Fred) and brother Kevin (Raphfaelle), and many cousins, nieces and nephews from the Ohlman Family.
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