Assunta Whitehead, 85, a resident of Poway since 1973, died on June 28, 2009. Mrs. Whitehead was born on February 7, 1924, in Italy, where she was the eldest daughter of Rocco and Immacolata Conca. When the German Army occupied her hometown following the armistice of September 1943, Assunta, her father and her brother, Nicola, fled to the mountains because the Germans were taking the men for forced labor and the young women were being taken to their camps. She had the dangerous job of getting food to the escapees past German sentries. During this time she became gravely ill and almost died. She lost two brothers in the war. Soon after her town was liberated she met Ray Whitehead, who returned to Italy after the war and married her. The couple moved to Baltimore where Assunta became seriously ill again and spent 20 months in the hospital. Upon her discharge in 1949, the family moved to Denver, CO. Assunta quickly received her citizenship papers and sponsored her father, who came to the United States in 1950. She worked hard to bring her mother, brothers and sisters to the U.S. as well as aunts, uncles and cousins. Through constant pleading with contractors, she was able to get jobs for her family members. In 1968, the family moved to San Diego and in 1973 came to Poway, where she raised dairy goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens and pigs, as well as caring for over an acre of fruit trees, vegetables and grapevines. When her mother died in 1975, she flew back for the funeral with her leg in a cast all the way to the hip. It had been broken by a charging ram. She took care of her aged father and a mentally retarded sister for many years before her death. Mrs. Whitehead is survived by daughter, Maria Capabianca of Poway; son, Joseph Whitehead and wife, Elisa, of Poway; sisters, Margherita Conca of Poway, and Carmela Russo and Maria Mariani both of Denver, CO; grandchildren, Adam, Gina, Raymond, Martha and David all of Poway; great-grandchildren, Cassandra, Ryan, Briar and Waylon; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins in Denver, Canada, England, Argentina and Italy. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, at Poway-Bernardo Mortuary in Poway. A Vigil Prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, 2009, at St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in Poway with the Committal to follow at Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in Assunta's name to Sharp Hospice Care, P.O. Box 1750, La Mesa, CA 91944. Arrangements are by Poway-Bernardo Mortuary.