Nearly five years have passed since the death of Gunilda “Jean” Rianda, a longtime St. Helena Realtor, but today marks the realization of her wish to create a haven for Napa Valley seniors.

Greta Ericson — former St. Helena mayor and Rianda’s longtime friend — said upon reaching the respectable age of 95, Rianda decided that her St. Helena home should somehow serve the greater good after her death.

“She was a real businesswoman and was going to leave it businesswise to the cancer society. I said, ‘You know, what’s the chance that this little town of St. Helena would ever get to have a house like this for a (senior center)? Why not do it for the seniors?’” recalled Ericson. “As soon as I said that, she said, ‘Why don’t we?’”

About three years before Rianda’s death in 2003, Ericson said, the Main Street home’s roof leaked and the house “was in terrible shape. ... It looked like such a huge endeavor that it was almost like it may not happen.”

Two years’ and $700,000 worth of extensive remodeling and landscaping later, the house now boasts a senior activity room, professional kitchen, bridge parlor, lending library, computer stations and a deck where seniors will soon leisurely sip their morning coffee.

“It’s happened and we’re not dreaming anymore,” said Ericson.

Gene Armstead, executive director of the Rianda House, said Meals on Wheels prepares food in the kitchen five days a week, adding that the Rianda House offers lunches to seniors each Tuesday for donations of just $2.50. Armstead said he hopes to eventually host lunches there five days a week.

The Rianda House, Armstead said, provides an invaluable social outlet for seniors living in the upper valley.

“(St. Helena) has a lot of very senior citizens, but you don’t see many of them out and around. Our goal is to socialize seniors who have been isolated,” he said.

Decades ago, it was not uncommon for grown children to live near their parents, but times have changed, creating a great need for a place where seniors can enjoy each other’s company, said Armstead.

“People are just more mobile than they used to be. ... Not only do kids want to get out of the small towns, but they can’t afford to live here,” he said.

The history of a home

According to the St. Helena Star, Joseph Tosetti, a St. Helena resident born in 1879, built what is now known as the Rianda House in 1926. After Tosetti’s death in 1955, the house had several owners before Rianda bought it in 1967. She remained for 36 years, until her death.

Rianda was one of three children of German immigrants, John and Augusta Pistorious, and spent much of her early youth on Napa Valley prune, grape and walnut ranches owned by her father. At the age of 6, Rianda moved with her family to St. Helena. She helped her mother care for her younger brothers, Edwin and August, after the untimely death of her father in 1920 from influenza. Rianda graduated from St. Helena High School in 1925.

She earned a nursing degree in 1931 from the Stanford School of Nursing and built a 20-year career in San Francisco as a public health nurse. It was in San Francisco that she met and married Walter Rianda in 1950, before the pair relocated to St. Helena.

Correction: the remodeling costs were misstated in an earlier version of this article