|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Many in Pleasanton community service circles heard the sad news earlier this month that longtime volunteer and former Mayor’s Award winner Tanya Ludden died after a four-year battle with cancer. She was 66.
A beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Ludden was known in the Tri-Valley for active roles in nonprofits like the Northern California Alzheimer’s Association, the old Valley Care Health Foundation, multiple schools’ parent-teacher associations and Sunflower Hill.
“Tanya was a vibrant and devoted part of our community for many years – lending her energy to the garden, supporting our galas and fundraising efforts, and strengthening our organization as a whole,” Sunflower Hill reps said in a post on Facebook on Aug. 11, four days after her death.
“Her leadership, dedication, and generous spirit helped shape Sunflower Hill in truly meaningful ways. As a volunteer, she gave her time wholeheartedly, nurturing our mission much like a sunflower that brings light and strength to all around it,” they added. “We are deeply grateful for all she contributed and for the many lives she touched. Sending love to Tanya’s family and loved ones.”
I’ll always remember the image of her embracing Jerry Thorne – Ludden with a huge smile, equal parts surprise and joy – onstage after he revealed her as the recipient of his Mayor’s Award in 2016, a photo that accompanied the article written by my predecessor Jeb Bing. Less than 10 years later and all three of them are gone.
Ludden’s family wrote a heartfelt obituary that appears in this week’s paper and on our website.
“For many, there will be a hole in their hearts from the unending pain of her passing, however, if we embrace one another as she did, we can fill those holes while honoring the exceptional person she was,” the obit read, in part. “Tanya, you are missed and forever loved! You will live rent free in our hearts and minds! Thank you for gracing us with your beautiful, authentic self; we are all better because of you.”
Also in this print edition is the obituary memorializing Bob Tagg, a longtime Pleasanton resident who died in May at age 71.
“He was an avid Giants baseball and Husker football fan, loved going to games, spending time with his kids and grandchildren, and vacationing in Kona. Bob spent 30+ years leading support operations for tech companies throughout the Bay Area like Remedy, Dell & Splunk,” Tagg’s family wrote.
A third obit honors the life and legacy of Kate Barker, a former Pleasanton resident who passed away peacefully at the family’s summer home at Henrys Lake, Idaho on Aug. 12 at age 68. She battled Alzheimer’s disease for over 14 years.
Reading of someone facing Alzheimer’s since their mid-50s, seemingly so young for such a cruel condition, caught me aback.
Same when I went through our sportswriter Dennis Miller’s column this week about the Amador Valley High School Hall of Fame class of 2026 that includes the late Monica Van Wegen, a former Dons track and cross country star who fought brain cancer for five years in her 20s and early 30s. Her family published a beautiful obituary with us after her death on Christmas Day 2011.
Another Pleasanton resident who competed for years athletically passed away this summer in Julie Chandler, 55, a dedicated Special Olympics participant. “She brought happiness to those around her with her smile, her enthusiasm, and her genuine love for people,” her family remembered.
Brad O’Connor spent countless summer days golfing and swimming at Castlewood, according to his obit. The husband, father, grandfather and retired tax professional died July 20 at 71.
Shirley Ann Behanna worked for some time at ClubSport in Pleasanton – in their childcare facility – but Bingo was more her competitive cup of tea. The 84-year-old passed Aug. 1.
And then there was former Granada High School football player Jerrod Chapman-Marshall, who died days away from his 20th birthday in a terrible car crash in Monterey on Aug. 16 for which the driver is facing felony charges.
I had the privilege of speaking with Jerrod’s mother on Tuesday afternoon, not long after she made a somber trip to the funeral home. Bonnie Marshall was kind enough to open up about her only child for my news story sharing the life and legacy of the Livermore teen.
Sadly, he wasn’t the only Tri-Valley teenager to die in a car crash during the past two weeks. Ashwin Nagaraja Punaroor, 18, from San Ramon was killed in a solo wreck at an Interstate 580 underpass early Monday morning in Livermore.
Marshall, still in the early throes of her grief, expressed empathy for Punaroor’s family.
“I’ve lost a parent before but, like, losing a child is a whole ‘nother ball game, I’ll tell you that,” she said through tears. “I’m sorry, I’m so sad. And it made me cry more just hearing that and thinking about that family – just knowing how much pain I feel.”
As I was getting ready to post the column online Thursday, I saw the tough news come across that Norm Reid – the founder and original owner of Norm’s Barber Shop on Main Street in Pleasanton – died Aug. 19.
The shop’s current operators made the announcement and shared that a celebration of life will be held Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. at Arroyo Church in Livermore: “RIP to one of my best barbers and friend, we will see you on the other side.”
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the associate publisher and editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What A Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
