Lavina Valera 'Beanie' Suter Huffman Gamper was born 22 April 1916 to Gladys (Hilton) and Ernst Suter in Seattle, Washington. Lavina was their eldest child and when her father passed in 1928 she took care of her siblings while her mother went to work to support the family. My mother told me she used to go into the strawberry fields and pick the berries to help out. I remember her telling me it was very hot and back breaking work. Lavina loved to roller skate and was a natural for it. She met Alva 'Al' James Huffman at a rink, they became skating partners and won several awards. They married 9 Aug 1937 in Phoenix, Ariz. Lavina and Al had two daughters, Betty Jean, and Arlene Yvonne. They divorced around 1942. Lavina met George Benedict Gamper and they were married 9 Jun 1947 in Reno, Nev. Lavina and George had two daughters also, Janice Claire and Marilyn Coleen. All 4 daughters were born in Calif. Lavina was a self taught piano player, when she was little she taught herself to play on a piece of cardboard with the keys drawn on it. She could play anything by ear and composed numerous songs. She became a victim to Alzheimer's in the early 1990's and passed 7 Aug 2006 with Marilyn and Janice at her side. She is buried in Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, Calif, with her husband, George at her side. Both are missed by all their family.
Lavina Valera 'Beanie' Suter Huffman Gamper was born 22 April 1916 to Gladys (Hilton) and Ernst Suter in Seattle, Washington. Lavina was their eldest child and when her father passed in 1928 she took care of her siblings while her mother went to work to support the family. My mother told me she used to go into the strawberry fields and pick the berries to help out. I remember her telling me it was very hot and back breaking work. Lavina loved to roller skate and was a natural for it. She met Alva 'Al' James Huffman at a rink, they became skating partners and won several awards. They married 9 Aug 1937 in Phoenix, Ariz. Lavina and Al had two daughters, Betty Jean, and Arlene Yvonne. They divorced around 1942. Lavina met George Benedict Gamper and they were married 9 Jun 1947 in Reno, Nev. Lavina and George had two daughters also, Janice Claire and Marilyn Coleen. All 4 daughters were born in Calif. Lavina was a self taught piano player, when she was little she taught herself to play on a piece of cardboard with the keys drawn on it. She could play anything by ear and composed numerous songs. She became a victim to Alzheimer's in the early 1990's and passed 7 Aug 2006 with Marilyn and Janice at her side. She is buried in Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, Calif, with her husband, George at her side. Both are missed by all their family.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
See more Huffman Gamper or Suter memorials in:
- Oak Hill Memorial Park Huffman Gamper or Suter
- San Jose Huffman Gamper or Suter
- Santa Clara County Huffman Gamper or Suter
- California Huffman Gamper or Suter
- USA Huffman Gamper or Suter
- Find a Grave Huffman Gamper or Suter
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
