Getra passed away peacefully at the age of 85 at Quail Gardens in Livermore. It was an early sunny day with the birds singing.
She was born in Orville, California as the first-born twin to Maren and Leonard Kendall. She was raised on the Circle J Ranch with her four sisters. Greta, Helen, AlLet and Karen, where she loved sewing with her sisters and raising her champion cow Princess in the Pentz 4-H Club.
She attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse known as Clear Creek School. Then she graduated from Durham High School and went on to Chico for one year majoring in Business. After graduating from Chico, she went to work on the Orville Dam where she met and married her beloved husband of 65 years. Getra and John attended the Durham Annual Parade and Picnic every year they could to meet up with family especially her sisters.
Getra and her sister Greta marched in the parade while in high school in the baton unit. Durham is just four miles south of Chico in the heart of California almonds and rice fields. Durham became a town after 1870 named after Robert Durham.
Getra was very active with the Pleasanton Arboleda 4-H club and sports with both her children. She was one of the first coaches in Pleasanton for girls’ soccer and softball. This was the beginning of girls’ sports! She attended every one of her children’s games and activities. The family even traveled to British Columbia, Canada to watch her son play with his all-star soccer team the Ballistic United Under-12 team with coach Harry Miller.
When her children were older, she worked as an accounting assistant for many different companies including a nursery. She loved to garden and enjoyed roses, so this was a perfect fit for her. She traveled with her husband to many job sites. Their most enjoyable site was Morro Bay and of course the Bay Bridge Project.
Getra and John stayed active, and you would always see them walking around the park with one of Linda’s dogs. Getra also participated for years in the swim aerobic classes at the Aquatic Center. One of her most enjoyable moments was the Beanie Baby Craze of the early 1990’s where you could purchase one of these stuffed toys for $5 and believed as many did that somehow these plush toys would somehow fund your grandchildren’s college. She enjoyed it! She went with friends and bought the collectors' magazines and even plastic protectors designed to keep the tags attached to each stuffed animal. Her grandchildren got involved as well especially when McDonald’s put miniature Beanie Babies in the Happy Meals. Grandma just loved the fun and excitement.
Getra was a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She enjoyed watching her children in their activities as mentioned and then her grandchildren at their sports games and with their 4-H projects. Getra was always active and outgoing. She loved people and always enjoyed supporting her family.
Getra is survived by her daughter Linda and son-in-law David Daniel and their children Sean, Megan, Ryan, Madison and husband Jayden Williams who is a Specialist in the U.S. Army, with their children Lilly and James. She is also survived by her son Kenneth Beede and his two sons Kenneth IV and Blake from his late wife Stephanie and with Lynn Halbeck their children Jordan, Trey and Joel who reside in Livermore. Getra lost her beloved husband almost a year ago at the age of 94. We all know he was tired of waiting for her in heaven and this was her time to join him.
Getra will be remembered for her outgoing spirit, her kind heart and always being there and ready to go on an adventure. Getra was always busy with some type of project or with her family. She even made her daughter’s wedding dress with the help of Linda’s cousin Julie. Even though her Alzheimer’s took away her memory she tried as hard as she could to fight through it and remember what she could. Mom, Grandma and Great-Grandma you will be missed!
A celebration of life will be on July 23, 2022, at Graham Hitch Mortuary of Pleasanton, California at 5 p.m. Please join the family and share your stories. The burial will be on a future date at Clear Creek Cemetery in Orville, California.
