Marisa Graef's Obituary
Marisa Graef, a Sacramento resident who loved gardening, sightseeing and having pool gatherings with her family and friends, passed away at her home Nov. 2, 2025 after a long and courageous battle against cancer. She was 64.
Marisa was born in Oakland on Aug. 22, 1961, where she grew up and attended St. Lawrence O'Toole Catholic School and graduated from Bishop O'Dowd High School. A few years later she married Ron Graef and the couple settled in San Leandro. They had four children.
In 2011, Marisa and her children moved into a home in Sacramento. When Marisa wasn't wading in her swimming pool to escape the valley's sweltering summer heat, she could be found in her backyard tending to a bountiful garden that would have made her father very proud.
Although Marisa was primarily a homemaker, she worked part-time jobs at Safeway, FedEx and Costco over the years to supplement the family income.
Marisa loved taking trips, especially to Yosemite and to her close friends' home in Bodega Bay, which she found soothing to her soul. For pot-lucks, she was often asked to bring her spicy salsa concoctions.
Marisa loved animals, and her home was always teeming with dogs, cats and exotic birds.
She was known to have a generous heart and could be counted on by her loved ones. "She was always there for everybody and jumped whenever somebody needed her," her daughter Lisa Ealy said.
Marisa was preceded in death by her parents, Ubaldo and Helen Dianda, brother Dino Dianda, and ex-husband Ron Graef. She is survived by her daughters, Amber and Amanda Graef and Lisa Ealy; a son Jason Graef; five grandchildren: Khalil, Saray and Meya Gaines; Keianna Vallier and Sophia Ealy; sisters Rina Skinner and Linda Boicelli, and brothers Mario, George and David Dianda.
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