Obituary of Betty Joanne Kunce

Betty Kunce passed away on May 28, 2014 of coronary artery disease in Lodi at the age of 84 after two years of declining health. Her daughter, Nancy, Hospice of San Joaquin, and the staff of Wine Country Care Center were caring her for. She was born February 28, 1930 in Ault, Colorado to parents David and Leona Rickman. She moved with her family to San Francisco in 1943 where her father entered the navy as an enlisted man for the third time, after having served in WW I, Korea and now WW II. When looking at family photos she always laughed that her father was the oldest Seaman First Class in the navy. Her parents, two brothers, David and Ron, and three of her sisters, Kathryn, Ann, and LaVita preceded Betty in death. Sisters Patricia and Judy survive her. In 1949 she met Clifford Kunce and they married in 1950. They had three children: Nancy, Linda, and Clifford, Jr. Betty and Cliff remained in the Bay Area until their move from a house in Pleasanton to 20 acres in Clements in 1973 where they finally settled down for the long-term. Betty and Cliff loved their life on "the ranch" where they tried their hands at growing fruit trees, raising livestock, and gardening. Even while Cliff continued his work as a hardwood-flooring contractor and commuted to the Bay Area there was always work to do at home and they loved it. Betty and Cliff always found time to travel around the country in their motor home and enjoyed several years on Lake Comanche with their houseboat where there was no shortage of family or friends for company. Their life in Clements had it dark moments, too. Betty and Cliff lost their daughter, Linda, in 1984 after a long battle with cancer. Linda was 32. Betty also suddenly lost her husband, Cliff, to a heart attack in 1999. He was 70. She was never able to really recover from either of these events and in the spring of 2001 she left Clements and moved to a house in Lodi. One of Betty's proudest personal moments was earning her High School Equivalency Certificate in 1996. Now she had a piece of paper that proved she was as smart as she always thought she was! Betty enjoyed traveling, reading, watching classic movies, playing cards and slot machines! She was active in the Lodi Chapter of TOPS for many years where she made several long-term friends. Betty is survived by her daughter, Nancy Reeves (Chuck) of Petaluma, and son Clifford Kunce, Jr. (Leslie) of Stockton. Also survived by her grandchildren Meghan Reeves and Zack Reeves (Ashley) of Sonoma County, and DeeAnne Kunce and Kaylee Kunce of San Joaquin County. Three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, including her niece Carol Lewis, with whom she had a close bond, survive her. A memorial service will be held July 11, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at Rocha's Funeral Home, 215 South School Street, Lodi. In lieu of flowers, Betty's children would prefer donations in Betty's memory to the agency that helped her family during both Betty's death and the death of their sister, Linda: Hospice of San Joaquin, 3888 Pacific Avenue, Stockton 95204.