Life Tributes for the week of 5/15/19
Jimmy Bentley Hollabaugh
Jimmy Bentley Hollabaugh, of Napa, passed away April 23, 2019. He was born in Russellville, Arkansas, on March 4, 1934, to John Bentley and Ida Irene Hollabaugh.
Jim is survived by his wife of 65 years, Kathy; his children, Levetra, Dowl and Doug; his grandchildren, Jeremy, Jamin, Joel, Seth, Jachin, Taylor and Menolly; and his great-grandchild, Liam.
As a man of God he was an example and inspiration to all his family and friends. Although we are blessed with the fact he is now with his savior Jesus, he will be greatly missed.
Carole Anne Jackson
Our beautiful mother and grandmother, Carole Anne Jackson, spent her last days surrounded by family and passed away peacefully on April 28, 2019, and is now in heaven with her loved ones who have gone on before her and her Savior, Jesus Christ. Though she faced a grim diagnosis at the end of her life, she found a wealth of comfort and hope because of her faith in God and even though she endured many difficult times in life, it was always her faith that saw her through.
Mom was born in Los Angeles on July 2, 1939, and grew up in and around San Gabriel Valley, calling El Monte her hometown. Born to Walter and Elma Tate, she was the oldest of three children. She grew up in tough financial times and learned the value of a dollar, and was raised with a strict sense of responsibility and doing her fair share of hard work. It was her father who instilled those values that would stay with her for the rest of her life.
She spent her childhood days in the 1940s – 50s with an appreciation for the groves of fruit trees and open pastures that dominated much of San Gabriel Valley. Those days were remembered by her as something to be cherished, for those groves are no longer there. It was also during that time that housing construction picked up, post World War II days, and her father became an accomplished contractor with his own business. Though times were lean in the beginning of his business, he was finally able to build a house of their own. This house became cherished among family for generations to come.
“The Big Yellow House,” as it was lovingly titled by the family, is where our mother spent most her childhood days. We hold many fond memories of times spent at the Big Yellow House with mom — Christmas and Easter, barbecues, many family celebrations and other holidays, getting dressed up and taking family pictures — days spent playing children’s outdoor games in the spacious yard and picking fruit from trees that grew in the yard.
Our mom met and married our father, Jerry Pack. Together they had four children: Jerry, Janiese, Deborah and Cynthia. They eventually divorced and after being a single mom for a number of years, it was in 1979 when she met and married Robert Jackson and they relocated from their home in El Monte to their friend’s property out around North Arm in Indian Valley.
It was her friends, Cheryl and Russ Flint who introduced Bob and mom to Indian Valley and they made the decision to call it home. This year marks mom’s fortieth year as a resident of Taylorsville. All of us daughters eventually followed her to Indian Valley and continue to live here.
Mom was very bright and it was no wonder that when she returned to school in late adulthood, she carried a 3.89 GPA at Feather River College. She was multi-talented and creative, with many natural talents such as writing and photography and home decorating. Many a time it was that she would take a house that was old and dilapidated, and with hard work and her eye for decorating, would turn it into a home for her children — no matter how little she had to work with. Mom also loved to write stories and poetry. She was always able to capture nuances of the days in which she grew up in her writing and would make one feel as if they experienced it with her.
From her youth, mom absolutely loved gardening, nature and the outdoors. Gardening with her grandmother and great-grandmother was one of her favorite times as a child. She spent countless hours honing her gardening skills and always transformed her yards from dead, dried up and neglected to beautiful organic gardens that exuded life and displayed her tremendous knowledge of plant life, and her green thumb. If one had a problem with a houseplant or if one needed to seek advice for the best placement of plants in the garden, she was the one to go to. She knew about the medicinal aspects of herbs and even how to make organic pesticide that was harmless to the environment. Her gardens were always organically arranged and could be appreciated for its variety and beauty. It would be more fair to say that gardening was a part of her — not something she did, but a part of her being.
Along with gardening, mom took up photography. Her love and fascination with photography naturally progressed from a hobby to a profession that she was very passionate about. She especially loved to get candid shots — specifically children and animals, because as she said, “they are never pretentious and don’t feel the need to pose.” She also loved close-up photography and became skilled with her macro lens. She told of her first experience using it: “I was fascinated with the ability of the macro lens to zoom in to the most intricate details of my subject. Once, as I looked through the lens, I could see right in to the eyes of a potato bug who was looking directly at me. His eyes were locked into mine and it transported me to another world. That was it — I was hooked!” From that day, she said, it was her passion to give others the same experience — to transport them with her pictures.
Mom became a published photographer in both national magazines, such as “Country Magazine” and in local brochures. She worked with Plumas Corporation and Plumas County Chamber of Commerce and other Northeastern California companies to supply subject specific photos for brochures for travel and visitors. She also documented in her photographs many old barns around Plumas County that are no longer standing. She won several first, second and third place ribbons at the Plumas County Fair — mostly first place. While outdoor and nature photography was her niche, photographing her grandchildren was her favorite thing to do.
It is no wonder since her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were adored by her. She had 30 grandchildren and great-grandchildren combined and loved every one of them. She was affectionately known as “Grandma Birdie” and “Gramcracker” — nicknames given to her by her grandchildren.
Taking the grandkids on nature walks was one of our mom’s favorite ways to spend time with the kids. She taught them about all the different trees and plants and occasionally they would encounter wildlife — one time a bear and her cub. Many of the grandkids can remember walks across the street from her house in the meadow below Mount Hough, wandering into the woods and learning so much from her. Grandma Birdie just had a way of making her grandchildren feel loved and important. They remember nights spent in her home playing scrabble, eating a home-cooked meal and being free to use whatever resources she could supply to keep their busy imaginations at work. It was rare that the television was on because there was always something for them to do at Grandma’s house. And after a busy day of exploring, the night was spent sleeping on her feather bed and then awakening to sound of her great-grandmother’s clock chiming in the morning hours.
Up until her last days in her home, she regularly had her great-grandchildren in her care while their mom was at work. Her vibrancy and vitality was strong and she loved spending those precious times with the kids and now those memories will live on in the hearts and minds of some of her youngest grandkids.
There are no words to fully convey the loss of our Mom and Grandma. We will miss her dearly and only take solace knowing her fight with cancer is over and she is out of pain. We know she is celebrating with the many loved ones who have gone on before her, which includes her husband, Robert Jackson, her father, Walter and mother, Elma, her sister Joan, and brother, Danny (Walter), and her grandson, Brandon and her sweet little dog, Ellie.
Carole is survived by her four children, Jerry, Janiese, Deborah and Cynthia and their spouses and her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly. We love her and count ourselves blessed to call her our own and will celebrate her life privately.
Dr. Frank James Kilzer
Dr. Frank James Kilzer, age 85, of Alameda and Quincy, died April 13, 2019.
Dr. Kilzer, who liked to be called ‘Doc’, taught chemistry for the Peralta College district for his entire professional career, first at Feather River College and later at Alameda College.
In addition to teaching university chemistry for over 40 years, Doc was an avid outdoorsman and amateur musician. He enjoyed hiking, climbing and river rafting, and was particularly proud of scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro. He sang with amateur choruses for decades and played piano.
Doc is survived by his brother, Ray Kilzer; his children, Paul Kilzer and Sharon Kilzer; three grandchildren; two great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
His favorite expressions were ‘the situation is hopeless but not serious’ and ‘living well is the best revenge.’
Sue Ann McKnight
Sue Ann McKnight, 77, a long time resident of Lake Almanor, passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2019.
She was predeceased by her husband, Gilbert McKnight; mother, Alberta Von Bank; brother, Mike Von Bank; and granddaughter, Laura Pendley.
She loved her life with her husband, Gil, in Lake Almanor and was a member of The Piecemakers Quilt Guild, a Red Hatter and a longtime member of the Chester TOPS Chapter.
She is survived by many who love her and will miss her dearly.
Sue lived the last two years of her life with her daughter in Alabama and will be interred at Moncrief Cemetery, Gardendale, Alabama.
Peggy Jo Smith
Peggy Jo Smith of Quincy passed away at Renown Regional Medical Center on May 9, 2019, at 8:50 p.m. peacefully.
She left behind a long time husband, Keith Smith and three sons, George Johnson, Jeff Johnson and Marc Johnson as well as a grandson, Justin Johnson. There are also two great-granddaughters, Kaylee Johnson and Hayden Johnson. She also left behind a sister, Patricia Thayer and her son, Richard Thayer and daughters, Patsy Thayer and Kelly McElwain.
Peggy was born and raised in Quincy and graduated from Quincy High. She was an artist for many years working in oil paint and colored pencil. She also worked with clay for a time. She was probably best known for her pencil drawing of old time logging scenes and family members.
She was an avid reader and a science fiction fanatic, both in her reading and her TV viewing. She loved Star Trek and would have been a Trekkie before that had ever been heard of.
She was the first woman to work inside the sawmill here in Quincy. She was active in the union while she worked there. Then she was a member of Women in Timber once she was forced to retire.
She loved animals and was always feeding the humming birds, squirrels and foxes on the decks of her home. Her true passion in animals though was cats. If there was a crazy cat lady out here, she was it. At one time she had nine cats in her home. She loved them all. The vet told her at one time he wanted to come back as a cat in her home, because he knew he would be well treated.
The Memorial Services will be held at 2405 East Main St. Quincy, on May 18 at 11 a.m.