Helen Ruth Tripp's Obituary
Helen Tripp, a long-time resident of San Leandro, died Saturday the 26th of November, at Kindred Healthcare Center in Livermore. She was 83. Born in 1933 in Tuolumne, CA, Helen’s family moved to Oakland when she was two, following the passing of her father. She met her future husband, Billy Tripp at a youth group dance at Elmhurst Methodist Church at the age of 17, and a year after she graduated from Castlemont High School, she and Billy were married at the Church where they met. They purchased their home in San Leandro in 1953, and lived there for 52 years, raising their three children, and later enjoying visits from their grandchildren. In Addition to keeping the household, and raising her children, Helen worked at several different jobs over the years, mainly as a Secretary in the San Lorenzo School District, with some years spent working at her old Jr High School, Frick, in Oakland. She also spent more than 10 years soliciting charitable donations by phone, for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. In Retirement, she and Billy enjoyed Western Swing dancing with the Hayward Stompers, and social events at the Eagles, Moose, and Masonic lodges, of which Billy was a member. Preceded in death by Billy, in 2004, she is survived by her three children, Penny (Sweeny), Julie (Viada), and Ron, Several nieces and nephews, 8 grandchildren, and 9 Great-grandchildren, who all brought great joy to her later years. A memorial service will be held Thursday, December 8th, at 1:00 p.m., at Chapel of the Chimes, in Hayward.
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