CALIFORNIA OBITUARIES

Archive for April, 2010

Billie A. (Badger) Matlock Born April 12, 1928 in Santa Rosa to Alice (Marra) Badger and Miles E. Badger. Billie passed away at her home in San Francisco after a lengthy illness on February 3, 2010. Billie is survived by her sons Paul Matlock, Peter Matlock and Perry Matlock; all of San Francisco. Sisters Jeanne Nahmens and Patricia Davis of Sebastopol, Lora Reilly of Williamsville, NY, Marlene Stevenson (Richard) of Santa Rosa. Also numerous nieces and nephews. Billie was a graduate of Santa Rosa High School, Class of 1946. She was a descendant of the Marra family of Bodega and Occidental, CA and the Fulkerson and Cockrill and Badger families, early settlers of Santa Rosa. Billie, who often preferred to be called “B” was also a graduate of Santa Rosa Junior College. “B” moved to San Francisco in about 1950 to Frederick Street across from Kezar Stadium. During her early years in S.F., she worked for Walton N. Moore Dry Goods Co., M. Fred Tidwell-Kimball’s Secretarial Service, Crown Zellerbach, and Dr. J.C. Campbell Dentist. Later, “B” was hired by Graham & James - Squire Sanders Legal Counsel from where she retired. “B” enjoyed gardening, in addition to collecting copper ware, milk glass, and other treasurers from charity stores. She always looked forward to her travelling adventures around the country. An informal memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 1 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, 5-7 pm. For information please call Perry 415-221-4240.
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Bret H. Gray, 47, passed away Friday at his home after a brief illness. He was born in San Francisco and has been a Benicia resident for almost 40 years. He worked as a diesel Mechanic for more than 20 years at several locations throughout the Bay Area., Bret was a big fan of NASCAR, the Giants, fishing and his beloved birds, Mork and Mel., He is survived by his father, Buddy Gray of San Francisco; his mother and stepfather, Jeannie and Les Montgomery of Benicia; his sister, Julie Criner and nieces Amanda A., Casandra A., and Alexandra A. Criner; and two great nieces, Kimora and Morgan., A private celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
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L. Ruth Burkhart VISTA –L. Ruth Burkhart continued on her journey of eternal life on April 28, 2010. She was preceded by her husband, …..
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Age 80, of Simi Valley, California, died Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital. She died peacefully with her family present. Carolyn lived the final three years of her life very happily at Vintage Simi Hills Assisted Living with her dog, Gypsy. Carolyn is survived by her only daughter, Cynthia Thayer; her two grandsons, Michael and Gregory T hayer; and her niece, Karen Seward; nephew, Jerry Seward and their children. Carolyn was dearly loved by her family and many friends and caregivers at Vintage Hills.
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Pauline Carey passed away on April 26th, 2010 at a local convalescent home. She was 83 years old. Pauline was born in Arlberg, Arkansas …..
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CAROL JEAN LUNDGAARD March 23,1954 - April 5, 2010 Carol a longtime resident of Oakland, lost her courageous fight with cancer on April 5, twelve days after her 56th birthday. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana she was a graduate of Indiana University. After serving in the peace corps in Zaire Africa, she moved to the Bay area. Carol work most of her adult life as a legal word processor and most recently attending Merritt and Alameda collage studying to be a radiologic technologists. Survived by her husband of 29 years Scott Tessmann and her two rescued dogs Augie and Bodhi, Carol was a strong supporter for animal rescue. She will always be loved and missed by all her friends and family. A memorial in celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, May 8th, 1:00 PM at the Tower Chapel in Mountain View Cemetery 5000 Piedmont Av. Oakland Ca.
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Nov. 24, 1920 - April 21, 2010 Dr. Rolle was born in Bisbee, Ariz. to Charles Rolle Sr. and Marie Combel. His medical education was at Colgate Univ. and his MD degree obtained at the UTMB, Galveston Texas in 1949. He was a U.S. Navy Corpsman in WW II, and Navy Physician during the Korean War. He specialized in Pathology and served at the USN Hospital San Diego, followed by training at the VA Hospital L.A. from 1952-55, and private practices at hospitals in Oakland and Pinole Ca until 1984. He was a generous donor to the San Francisco and Merola Opera, Modesto Ballet, Palm Springs and Los Angeles County Art Museums. He succumbed to acute renal failure and intestinal bleeding at Desert Hospital Palm Springs on April 21, 2010. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Joseph and Marie Rolle of Flagstaff, Ariz.; sisters, Mary Bennett of Scottsdale, Ariz., Louise Hawkins of Phoeniz, Ariz.; nephews, Dr. Charles and Julie B. Rolle of Sedona, Ariz.; nieces, Joanne Rolle and Steve Harper of Scottsdale and Randi Rolle and Doug Umlah of Flagstaff. Many close friends and colleagues include Frank Moore and Allen B. Freitag MD., as well as members of Prime Timers of the Desert, and Front Runners and Walkers of Palm Springs. No services are planned. If desired, contributions to charities are suggested.
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November 12, 1925-April 17, 2010
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Christopher Scott Hall
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Claudine Mary (Shanks) Whittaker, a longtime resident of Vacaville, passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday, April 15, after a short battle with lung cancer. She was 81., Claudia, as she liked to be called, was born in rural Mount Hood, Ore., to Guy Otis Shanks and Claudia Agnes Turcotte. She was the youngest of five children. Six days after Claudia was born, her mother passed away from tuberculosis. Her father was a laborer and unable to support his young family during the Great Depression. The children were sent to live with various relatives., Members of the local Presbyterian Church heard that Claudia was residing in a home where the family had more than enough mouths to feed and an alcoholic father. They sent a small yet determined group of women to the home one night. The ladies left with Claudia. Laura Mathison was one of the ladies, a hardy pioneer widow and farmer in Hood River County. Mrs. Mathison took the child to live with her. Claudia would often say that she spent some of the happiest times of her young childhood on the farm, playing with her dog, Rags., Eventually, the elderly Mrs. Mathison and Claudia would move in with Laura’s only child, Winifred, and her husband, Marinus Jeppesen. Claudia would be raised along with the Jeppesen’s three children, Henry, Marin and Laura. The Jeppesens moved to Vacaville and settled into a house on Buck Avenue that Marinus purchased for $9,000 when he was employed as a manager with Pacific Gas and Electric., Claudia attended the first Vacaville High School that was built in 1898 on College Hill, now known as Andrews Park. A notation in her diary for Sept. 27, 1943, states, “Today was the first day at the new school, Vacaville High. The kids are swell. I think I lost a book.” Book or not, she graduated with the Class of 1946. Claudia would be the first of three generations who attended the Vacaville High Schools and became Vacaville High alumni., As a teenager, Claudia worked at the Vaca Valley Creamery, a local burger and shake hangout. When she wasn’t working or doing chores at home, she enjoyed taking a ride up to Lake Berryessa with her friends. Her favorite pastime was listening to music on the radio and dancing. Tucked inside her diary was a dance card from her 1945 junior class prom, filled with names such as Pritchett, Moreno, Lowney, Campos and Aguilera. Bus trips to San Francisco with her girlfriend, Greta (now Greta Magers), included shopping, dining out and dancing. Greta relates that they had great fun together, two girls in the big city., After graduation, Claudia traveled to Kansas City to become a stewardess. There she met and married her first husband and started her family. When the marriage ended, she brought her daughters, Jani and Susie, back to her hometown of Vacaville., Soon after returning to California, Claudia began working at Travis Air Force Base as a clerk typist. Over a 30-year career as a Federal Civil Service employee, she would work her way up to serve as the Chief Classification Specialist of the Office of Personnel Management at Travis Air Force Base, 60th MAC. In February, she attended a luncheon in her honor arranged by Bobbie Martin. Fifteen of her former staff traveled many combined miles to show their appreciation of her service and to share a few “remember when” stories among old friends. She was deeply touched by the tribute., Claudia was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 31 years, Robert Preston Whittaker, who passed away in 1988. She met Bob when he came to apply for a job at Travis as an airplane mechanic. He thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Bob worked hard to win her heart. He would bake her homemade chocolate chip cookies and leave them in her car. It worked. They were married in 1957 and their son, Kevin, was born in 1958., Once the kids were grown, Bob and Claudia were free to travel. Claudia’s high school buddy, Masse Groulx, and his wife, Irene, shared many a plane, train and bus with the Whittakers, making lifelong memories. Irene and Claudia revisited those good times when Irene came to visit and help care for Claudia during her recent illness. Laughter is always the best medicine. And chocolate Hershey’s Kisses., A source of pride for Claudia was her Native American heritage. She was a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and had the opportunity to visit the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota some years ago. It wasn’t always easy to show that pride while growing up. As a child in Oregon, she witnessed racism in the classroom and was told not to acknowledge being a “half breed.”, Claudia was a voracious reader. She enjoyed murder mysteries as well as current periodicals. Any news program, courtroom reality show or police drama would be her first choice for TV viewing. She was a regular bingo player at the Vacaville Bingo Hall and loved road trips to Thunder Valley. Often she would sit with an electronic poker or blackjack game in her hands because, she said, “it keeps my mind sharp.”, Giving back to the community she loved was important to Claudia. She volunteered for and served on the board of the SPCA for 10 years, supported the Vaca High Alumni Association, assisted her husband, Bob, with bingo at the Vets Hall in the past and worked the NARFE (National Association of Retired Federal Employees) booth during Fiesta Days., In addition to her husband, Claudia was also preceded in death by siblings, Cecilia Shanks, Eldon Daniel Shanks, John Fabian Shanks and Katherine Edith Shanks Tauscher; and foster siblings, Henry Jeppesen, Marin Jeppesen Tyler and Laura Jeppesen Hargis., She is survived by her children, Jan (Steve) Muller of Vallejo, Sue (John) Hoeft of Vacaville and Kevin (Brenda) Whittaker of Vacaville; grandchildren, Toni (Darin) Graham of Vacaville, John (LaVonna) Vasquez of Los Angeles, Mary Vasquez (Rene Pimentel) of Vacaville, Nicole (Kyle) Ball of Oregon and Tiffany Whittaker of Oregon; and great-grandchildren, Robbie Graham, and Ciana and Alejandro Vasquez Pimentel. She was also looking forward to this summer and the birth of her fourth great-grandchild, a girl, Sydney Ball., Our family was blessed to have at its helm such a strong matriarch. Our Mom, our Grandma Claudia, our Nina was our northern star. When asked for advice, she would recite her “pick yourself up by your bootstraps and move forward” mantra. She would tell you that in the large scheme of things, there was always someone out there with it worse than you. And she was right. Mom was tough-minded, but she had a big heart and a generous spirit. She passed down to us a balance of fortitude and compassion., Burial will be private, per her request. To honor Claudia’s memory, the family asks that donations be made to local organizations such as the Veterans, the SPCA, the Vaca High Alumni Association, the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County, or Mission Solano., Our family is sincerely grateful to the team from Sutter VNA and Hospice of Concord for their superb care and benevolent support of our mother during the twilight of her life., Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Nadeau Family Funeral Home, 455-7700.,
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