A DAY TO GIVE THANKS; RESIDENTS TO FEAST, COUNT BLESSINGS.

Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer

As he takes his seat before a bounteous Thanksgiving Day spread at his daughter's house today, John Donnelly will whisper thank-yous to all the loved ones who helped pull him out of a paralyzing depression.

Yvonne Soliz will proudly baste a turkey that she was able to buy - for the first time - without food stamps.

Ninety-two-year-old Walter Schnell, who lost his family in the Holocaust, will say thanks to the Daceys of Northridge, who opened their home and hearts to him on this national day of thanksgiving.

Across the city, in homes filled with the rich smells of roasting turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie, families and friends will come together and give thanks for blessings big and small, whether it's the kindness of a friend, a steady job, a place to call home or good health.

``I have the most wonderful, loving, caring and giving friends. I usually start tearing up when I say that, then I sit down and shut up,'' said Donnelly, 71, of Granada Hills.

He fell into a bad funk three years ago after the death of his wife, Betty Lou. With the help of his new friends at the East Valley Multipurpose Center for Seniors, where he now works as a volunteer receptionist, Donnelly found a new purpose to his life.

Schnell lives in the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda and has no living relatives. Today he'll put on one of his best sports jackets and ties, and join the John and Amy Dacey family for a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast.

Schnell's invitation came at the behest of the Daceys' youngest child, Michael, 8, who met Schnell through a class project. Michael and his classmates are ``Mitzvah Munchkins'' who spend time with with residents at the Jewish home.

Michael had to check with his mom before adding another name to the already lengthy guest list.

``He said, `Walter doesn't have anybody, Mommy; do you think we could invite him?' I just thought that was wonderful,'' Amy Dacey said.

Earlier this week, mother and son visited Schnell to find out whether he would accept. ``He just lit up. He was so excited. He said, `What time will you pick me up?' '' she said.

Schnell said it'll be nice to ``spend the day with the family.'' But he was a little worried about the menu.

``I'm strictly kosher,'' he advised.

Not to worry, said Amy Dacey. The bird's strictly kosher, too.

In Northridge, Irving Carter, 26, will use old recipes handed down from his grandmother to whip up a Thanksgiving meal for teen-age boys at the residential treatment facility where he works as a counselor.

Carter runs out of fingers and toes when he counts his blessings. He's close to completing a degree in kinesiology at California State University, Northridge, works two jobs and rents an apartment in Granada Hills - accomplishments that seemed impossible when he was gangbanging and living in foster homes as a youth.

``For a long time, I didn't think I'd make it to 25,'' Carter said. ``Now I want to give back, make others realize you can rise above your circumstances.''

At a hotel in Van Nuys, relatives - 170 in all - will come from near and far to celebrate the 100th birthday of family matriarch Lottie Boardman, an Iowa farm wife who settled in Woodland Hills with her late husband, Lake, in 1947.

Boardman, hale and hearty and living on her own at Seal Beach Leisure World, said one of her most memorable turkey days was one of the skimpiest.

``We got snowed in when we were going out to my grandmother's place, so we had to stay home,'' she said. ``We didn't have a real Thanksgiving dinner, but we all appreciated what we had - plum jelly for cranberry and roast chicken instead of turkey.''

Boardman was practically blind before undergoing cataract surgery recently. That means she'll be able to clearly see her entire brood - six children, 19 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren, some of whom are flying in from points as distant as Germany and Alaska.

This year's Thanksgiving feast will be one of the most satisfying ever for Soliz and her family. Not just because of the tasty turkey and ham, but because the 30-year-old mother of four and her husband, Donald, paid for all the groceries themselves.

``I'm on the other side now. It gives me the greatest feeling,'' said the Mission Hills resident.

Soliz recently got a $9.24-an-hour job at the Child Care Resource Center in North Hollywood, allowing her to say goodbye to Aid to Families With Dependent Children and food stamps.

Soliz participated in Los Angeles County's welfare-to-work program, Greater Avenues to Independence.

Mary Louise Mendoza of Pacoima is grateful this year for something small - being able to put one foot in front of the other and walk across the room.

She was in a wheelchair for a year after undergoing brain surgery several years ago. Her spirits sank, and she hardly left her house.

Mendoza has improved dramatically. She can walk with a cane and plans to spend much of today in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

Like Donnelly, Mendoza credits her volunteer work for restoring her emotional health. She volunteers at Meet Each Need With Dignity, a Pacoima-based social service agency.

``I'm grateful that I can help people and do for others,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (color) Walter Schnell, 92, will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with his friend Michael Dacey, 8, and his family in Northridge after Michael extended him an invitation.

David Sprague/Daily News