Nadina Gale French

The Life of Dina French

Nadina “Dina” Gale French, was born August 12, 1952, in Woodland, CA. Dina was born to Gladys and Dale French of Arkansas and had four siblings, Pat, Tom, Deb, and Daryl

. She was a spirited little girl and always looking for adventure with her siblings or looking for a quiet place to read. She grew up in a time where she had a chance to love riding horses. She also loved listening to her records and even snuck into her brother Tom’s room to listen to his collection of music. Her love for reading made her an excellent student and she excelled in all her schooling. Dina graduated from Woodland High School and received her Bachelors in Psychology from Chico State.

After graduating from college Dina started her family and was a young mother of four. Dina was a single mother and proudly raised her children Sunny, Mariah, Nicolas, and Vince all by herself working two jobs and continuing to pursue her teaching credentials and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from CSU Sacramento. Dina started her career in Esparto, CA, but eventually found herself working in Fairfield and made the move to her home in Napa in 1994. She was a literacy specialist and teacher leader in Special Education and retired from Napa Valley Unified School District in 2015.

Dina was an extraordinary educator and enjoyed her career as a special education teacher, she changed the lives of many young students who needed support and an advocate to speak for them.

Dina also found time to travel and explore with friends and family overseas and all over Northern California. She enjoyed her time exploring state parks and finding new adventures in her travels to other countries. Dina was also a huge sports fan; she loved the Niners, the Golden State Warriors, and cheered on the Giants including going to the 2012 World Series celebration parade!

Most importantly to Dina was time spent with her family, she enjoyed every minute with her children and she was so proud to be a second parent to her niece C.C.                                              Dina was so happy when her family expanded with the additions of her children’s spouses and all of her wonderful grandchildren. She was blessed with many grandchildren Andrew, Malachite and Sawyer, Hannah, Sydney, and Ethan. Nic Leo and AC and Vinny, Logan and Cameryn.

In her mantra she is known as saying “Family first and it's always better to be kind than right.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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