Friends and co-workers of the late Cal Fire captain Rebecca “Becky” Marodi are holding a memorial ride and Celebration of Life for her on Sunday, March 16.
The Ride Free memorial motorcycle ride is being organized by the San Diego Litas, an all-female motorcycle collective of which Marodi was a member. The Celebration of Life, to be held at Josie’s Hideout Saloon in Santa Ysabel, will include an afternoon of music with several Ramona bands.
Marodi served Cal Fire for more than 30 years in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. She began as a volunteer firefighter in Moreno Valley in 1993, and worked her way up, becoming a captain in 2022.
The 49-year-old was stabbed to death on Feb. 17 at her home on Rancho Villa Road in Ramona. An arrest warrant has been filed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s office for Marodi’s wife, Yolanda Marodi, also known as Yolanda Olejniczak, who is still on the run and believed to be in Mexico.
Praising Rebecca Marodi’s “unwavering bravery, leadership and commitment,” Cal Fire created a Benevolent Fund at www.zeffy.com/en-US/fundraising/fire-captain-rebecca-marodi-fundraiser.
Joe Thompson, a Ramona firefighter, worked with Marodi for six years at Station 69 in Rancho Mirage. She was the engineer and he was the paramedic firefighter.
“Becky was very competent, and everyone on her crew enjoyed working with her because of the fun atmosphere she created,” said Thompson.
“She valued family and encouraged everyone on duty to invite their families to the station on the holidays that we worked. My oldest son actually spent his first Christmas at the station alongside Becky and her parents,” he said.
Thompson also ed Marodi’s comion. He said a few days before her death she attended a peer conference in Sacramento, and the day before she died she visited a fellow Cal Fire captain in the hospital who was battling job-related cancer.
Marodi was a member of the Cal Fire peer team, and often traveled to different stations to check on the welfare of other firefighters.
In January, she spent 17 days fighting the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles.
“Becky was set to retire after a 30-year career with Cal Fire. She gave so much of herself as both a firefighter and a person, and didn’t deserve what happened to her,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the Benevolent Fund will help Marodi’s mother, Lorena Marodi. As of March 9, the fund had reached more than $26,000 of its $50,000 goal.
The memorial ride begins at 9 a.m. Participants are asked to meet in the Hillcrest area of San Diego at the flagpole at the corner of University Avenue and Normal Street.
The ride will end at Josie’s Hideout Saloon at 27413 Highway 76.
Riders plan to be in Ramona at 10:15 a.m., and are hoping residents and friends of Marodi will line Main Street to honor the procession.
“We will have photos of Beck and flags on our bikes, and plan to make a stop along the way for people to take photos,” said Amy Kerrigan, a member of the Litas.
For the most current information about the ride, Kerrigan suggests people check www.instagram.com/thelitas_sandiego/.
Ami Mahler Salinas Davis, another member of the Litas, said she and Marodi often rode their touring motorcycles together, from simple trips through Ramona to camping events in Santa Barbara.
“She was a human who constantly thought about other people,” Davis said. “She was genuinely such a good-hearted human.”
Davis recounted that after she purchased a motorcycle with mechanical issues, Marodi— even though exhausted from a two-week firefighting stint — came over and spent the day in her garage, teaching her how to fix it.
“That was just common for her. She was such a selfless person,” Davis said.
As the ride ends, the Celebration of Life, featuring Dirty Confetti, Dolly’s Revenge, Farm Truck and Thea The Band takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“All the bands are honored to be a part of this event and will be donating all the proceeds,” said Thea Tochihara, of Thea The Band.
Lorena Marodi, who lived at the house with her daughter, has been an avid er of music events in Ramona.
The event is open to the public. Josie’s has mostly outdoor seating; food and drinks will be available.
A memorial T-shirt, created for Cal Fire Battalion 15 in Riverside County, where Marodi worked, will also be available. Created by Mindy Minor of Trends and Spirit, proceeds from the T-shirt sales will go into the Benevolent Fund.
Andrea Winter, one of Marodi’s neighbors, said she hopes local residents will the fundraising efforts on Marodi’s behalf, and continue her legacy of caring for others.
The two met after they both volunteered at a former horse rescue.
“I was brand new to it all and she showed me the ropes pretty quickly,” Winter said. “A few years after volunteering, I moved to Ramona and would hang out with her and her mom.”
As both women owned horses, Winter said Marodi would often help her with her animals.
Winter said “nice is not an effusive enough word” to describe her friend.
“She was such a warm, loving person. She once gave R to a hummingbird. She rescued a cat from a burning house and rescued dogs from fires. When she showed up to a call, she wouldn’t leave until all the animals involved were taken care of,” Winter said.
Marodi wanted to ensure her mother was always taken care of, she said.
“She deeply, deeply cared for her mother,” Winter said.
“Becky was somebody that helped fix people,” she added. “Her role was as a first responder at work and she replicated that in her personal life, and was always taking care of people.”
