Monday, October 1, 2012

Three Bishop, CA, Obituaries

Reds Meadow Campground, CA

        [Links added below on 12 Nov 2912]

    Herewith are three obituaries from the Bishop, CA, Inyo Register. They are for Roberta Matlick and George Alexson, former faculty and staff members of Bishop Union High School, and Jill Kinmont Boothe, author of two books on her experiences as an Olympic-class skier, quadriplegic, and teacher. (Her first book, The Other Side of the Mountain, was the favorite of many of the girls in my freshman and sophomore BUHS English classes during the 1966-67 school year.)
....
Roberta Ann Rogers MATLICK
--
Obituary
--
Monday 26 January 2012 [Bishop, CA] Inyo Register
--
    Roberta Ann Matlick went home to be with the Lord on Jan. 19, 2012 after a brief illness with pancreatic cancer. She was 86.
    Roberta was born March 19, 1925 in Long Beach to Robert and Jessie Rogers. She grew up in San Pedro, graduating from UCLA in 1946, as a member of Phi Beta Cappa. Miss Rogers moved to Bishop in August of 1946 at the age of 21 to teach math at Bishop Union High School. She was known to her students as "Rog." She continued to teach in Bishop until 1952, when she moved to Bakersfield and taught for three years.
    In 1955, Roberta married Stan Matlick and returned to Bishop to continue her teaching career until retiring in 1984. Upon retiring, she continued to be a dedicated volunteer in the Bishop schools, helping students of all ages.
    Roberta was very active in the Bishop community. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church, often playing the piano for various events. She was on the national Presbytery Council for four years in the late 1980s.
    Roberta was the founder of Laws Railroad Museum's "Good Ole Days," both a member and a board member of the Community Concert Association, and she served on the board of the Inyo-Mono Area Agency on Aging. She was also a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and TOPS association.
    When her children were younger, she was a 4-H community leader and project leader for many years. For three summers she volunteered at Wasatch Academy in Wasatch, Utah.
    Roberta is survived by her husband of 56 years, Stan Matlick; one daughter, Margaret Matlick of Bishop; one son, Bob Matlick and his wife, Diann of Visalia; and one grandson, Kyle Matlick. She will be missed by all.
    Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 at the First Presbyterian Church in Bishop. Interment will follow at the West Line Street Cemetery.
    In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Laws Railroad Museum or the First Presbyterian Churches Deacon's Fund.
....

George W. ALEXSON
--
Obituary
--
Thursday 20 September 2012 [Bishop, CA] Inyo Register
--
    The country and our family lost another hero on Sept. 11, 2012. George W. Alexson passed away at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11.
    He was born on March 29, 1920 in San Francisco to George William and Bertha (Maier) Alexson. He spent his early years in San Francisco and Cupertino where his father was employed as a mechanic. He grew up in Huntington Park and graduated from Huntington Park High School in 1939.
    With the outbreak of World War II, George enlisted in the Marine Corps and was a veteran in the Pacific Campaign on Guadacanal. He transferred to the Naval Reserve and was undergoing flight training when the war ended. He served out the remainder of his enlistment on Whidbey Island, Wash.
    George married Mary Tumbleson, his wife of 67 years, on Feb. 1, 1945, in Huntington Park. He completed his education on the G.I. Bill with a Masters Degree in Secondary School Administration from California State University [at] Los Angeles. While attending school he worked in the Los Angeles Juvenile Hall Detention System.
    He began his teaching career in the small Eastern Sierra town of Bishop in 1955. He advanced to Dean of Boys/Vice-Principal and was promoted to Principal/Superintendent in 1964. In 1968, George and his family relocated to Imperial where George served as the Principal and District Superintendent of the Imperial Unified School District, retiring in 1975.
    After retiring, George worked for a time with Leonard Spear Realty and became the housing manager at Naval Air Station, El Centro, in 1983. George was an active member of the El Centro Kiwanis and the Imperial Valley Gem and Mineral Society. He enjoyed reading, his shop projects, gardening and the use of lapidary equipment to cut, shape and polish rocks of various types from all over the country.
    He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary; three sons, Michael (Beverly), Peter (Karen) and Don Alexson (Kim); eight grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. He will be missed but remembered by all.
    No formal or public services are planned.
    In lieu of flowers or other remembrances, interested parties are invited to make a donation in his honor to the El Centro Kiwanis, P.O. Box 632, El Centro, CA 92244.
....

Jill Kinmont BOOTHE
--
Obituary
--
Thursday 16 February 2012 [Bishop, CA] Inyo Register
--
    Jill Kinmont Boothe, born Feb. 16, 1936 in North Hollywood, to Bill Kinmont and June Haines Kinmont, passed away Feb. 9, 2012 at the age of 75 at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center in Carson City, Nevada.
    She and her family moved to Bishop in 1947 when her family started the Rocking K Guest Ranch west of Bishop. She began skiing in high school and it was not long before she was winning many ski races. She graduated from Bishop High School in 1953 and became a serious competitor on the national ski scene.
    In 1955 she won both junior and senior women's national championships in giant slalom. She was a shoo-in for the Olympics. While trying out for the Olympics she was injured in a 1956 race in Alta, Utah and was left a quadriplegic.
    Following a year in rehab she attended UCLA graduating with a degree in German. She wanted to become a teacher, but UCLA would not admit her into its teachers college because they did not think she was employable due to her disability.
    She and her family moved to Seattle, Wash. where she attained her teaching credential and taught remedial reading at Mercer Island School in Washington. After her father's death she and her mother moved back to Los Angeles.
    Her desire was to teach in inner city schools, but no one would hire her with her disability because, as they put it, "she could not walk up and down stairs and stand all day." Ironically the highest-paying school district in California, Beverly Hills, hired her and she taught there for over eight years before moving back to Bishop in 1975, where she began teaching in the Elementary School District.
    She and John Boothe were married in 1976 and she taught remedial reading and special education until her retirement in 1996. To the end of her life she heard from students that she taught years ago thanking her for the special attention she gave to all of her students; they shared their successes with her. One student from Beverly Hills wrote and told her that he had been put in her class to catch up and he just wanted her to know that he "caught up" and had just passed the Bar Exam.
    After retirement she taught for several years at the Jill Kinmont Boothe School, named after her, which is a continuation school for students having problems dealing with the regular school system.
    Two movies, The Other Side Of The Mountain and The Other Side Of The Mountain II, were made about her life in 1976 and 1977.
    Using some of the proceeds from the movies she established the Jill Kinmont Indian Education Fund, which has given more than 100 scholarships to local Native American students over the years. In just this past year the fund awarded $15,000 to 13 deserving students.
    Jill was an accomplished watercolor artist, painting with a special brace to hold her brush and pen for her ink drawings. She and her friend Carol Taylor held annual art shows in John and Jill's home for the past 13 years. In the last few years they were joined by watercolorist Mickey Short and photographer Tina Slee -- the last show having been this last April.
    Jill was preceded in death by her mother and father, and is survived by husband, John Boothe; adopted daughter, Morningstar Wagoner and her husband, James; and grandchildren, Wyatt and Lily Wagoner; brothers, Bob Kinmont and his wife, Sue, and Jerry Kinmont and special friend, Sylvia Oates; brother-in-law, Roy Boothe and his wife, Beverly; sisters-in-law, Janet and her husband, Gary "Gert" Dougherty, and Linda and her husband, Mike Weier; and numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and many friends.
    Jill will always be remembered for her positive, upbeat attitude, which never let anything get the best of her. She was a dedicated teacher, friend, wife, aunt, sister, daughter and grandmother.
    Donations in Jill's memory can be made to the Jill Kinmont Indian Education Fund, 310 Sunland Dr., Bishop, CA 93514.
    Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 at the East Line Street Cemetery. Rev. Caddy Jackson will officiate. A reception will follow the service at the Home Economics Building at the Tri-County Fairgrounds.
--
Links:

--

F 28 Sep Actual Route: Fairview USFS CG - Sherman Pass - Troy Mdws USFS CG

Sa 29 Sep Actual Route: Troy Mdws USFS CG

Su 30 Sep Actual Route: Troy Mdws USFS CG - Fish Crk CG - Kennedy Mdws - Olancha - Lone Pine - Portagee Joe Inyo County CG

M 1 Oct Actual Route: Portagee Joe Inyo County CG - Lone Pine - Independence - Big Pine - Big Pine Crk bd

T 2 Oct Actual Route: Big Pine Crk bd - Big Pine - Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest - Grandview USFS CG

W 3 Oct Actual Route: Grandview USFS CG - Big Pine - Bishop - North Lake USFS CG

Th 4 Oct Actual Route: North Lake CG - Bishop Senior Center - Pleasant Valley Inyo County Campground

F 5 Oct Actual Route: Pleasant Valley Campground - Convict Lake Dump Station - Mammoth Lakes - Minaret Summit - Devils Postpile Natl Monument - Reds Meadow Campground

Sa 6 Oct Route: Reds Meadow CG - Minaret Summit - Mammoth Lakes Library - Lee Vining - Tioga Lake Campground

Su 7 Oct Route: Tioga Lake CG - Saddlebag Lake - Tioga Pass - Tuolumne Meadows - Crane Flat Entrance - Hardin Flat Campground --

--

Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

No comments:

Post a Comment