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Bettieann Patricia Baldridge
Former Kasilof resident Bettieann Patricia Baldridge died
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003, at the home of her daughter in Carnation, Wash. She was
73.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 21, at the Kingdom Hall on Kalifornsky Beach Road in Soldotna. A
celebration of life will follow at the Soldotna Sports Center.
Mrs. Baldridge was born March 20, 1930, in
Portland, Ore., to Ernest and Mildred Karlen. She grew up on dairy farms in the
Portland area with her sister, Shirley.
"She had a happy childhood and spent her time
helping with the cows, riding horses, playing the piano and enjoying special
times with her extended family at Swiss dances and picnics," her family said.
Mrs. Baldridge graduated from Gresham Union
High School in 1948 and married E.C. Schmidt of Gresham, Ore., the same year.
They had two children. Mrs. Baldridge moved to Alaska later with her children to
join her mother and stepfather.
As a single parent, she helped manage the
Naptowne Inn in Sterling with her parents. There she met her second husband, J.F.
Baldridge. They homesteaded in Anchor Point in 1958, having four more children.
After divorcing in 1971, she spent time in
Oregon, where she attended and graduated from Bryman College. She then settled
in Kasilof near her mother and sister. She worked as a secretary for the Kenai
Peninsula Borough School District in Soldotna until she retired.
"She enjoyed spending time with her
grandchildren and was proud of all their accomplishments. In spite of failing
health due to heart complications, she made special efforts to attend all high
school and college graduations and weddings as they came along. She had a
lifelong love for animals and always had a dog and several cats. In younger
years, she loved horseback riding and had pet geese that followed her around and
sat on her lap," her family said.
"In later years, she enjoyed trips to Hawaii
and the Lower 48 with her children and families. She was a pro at the daily
crossword puzzles in the newspaper, liked going for walks and picking berries.
She loved pretty things and enjoyed shopping."
After her third open heart surgery, in 2001,
she began spending winters with her daughter, Judith, in Carnation, returning to
Alaska in the summers.
"Her gentle, loving ways will be deeply
missed," her family said. "She was a true lady all her life."
Mrs. Baldridge was preceded in death by her
mother and stepfather, Mildred and Juel Nielsen; her father and stepmother,
Ernest and Mildred Karlen; and her grandson, Jason Baldridge.
She is survived by her sons and
daughters-in-law, Patrick and Carol Schmidt of Anchorage, Jamie and Joy
Baldridge of Soldotna and John and Sheilah Baldridge of Fairbanks; her daughters
and sons-in-law, Suellen and Robert Thompson of Ninilchik, Jeanine and Bill
Garry of Eagle River and Judith and Alastair Cecil of Carnation; her
grandchildren, Curtis Schmidt and his wife, Margaret, Audra Fritz and her
husband, John, Heidi Thompson, Patrick Thompson and his wife, Denise, Ryan and
Derek Baldridge, Erin and Megan Wahrenbrock, Benjamin Garry and Jeremy and
Jeffery and Jacob Baldridge; her great-grandchildren, Aliann and Danica Schmidt
and Joshua Fritz; her sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Grant Fritz of
Kasilof; and her stepbrother, Wayne Nielsen of Tucson, Ariz.
Arrangements were handled by Bleitz Funeral
Home in Seattle.
Source: Peninsula Clarion,
December 16, 2003
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