Betty and Dick Burkhalter were active members of the Orinda community, contributing many volunteer hours to local organizations.
Barbara Louise “Betty” Burkhalter, age 89, passed away peacefully Nov. 21, 2021, in Alamo.
Born April 20, 1932 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Betty graduated with a degree in nursing from Vancouver General Hospital in 1955 and promptly headed to the warmer climes of Hawaii. Betty loved her time in Hawaii, often working the 2 p.m. – 10 p.m. shift at the hospital so she could surf all morning. She moved to the Bay Area in 1958 when she accepted a nursing position at Kaiser in Oakland. In 1962, she married Richard “Dick” Burkhalter, who preceded her in death earlier in 2021. They were married 59 years.
In 1970, Betty and Dick moved their family to Orinda, where Betty became an active volunteer in the local schools and an avid tennis player at Orinda Country Club. Along with surfing and tennis, Betty also enjoyed swimming and was a dedicated sports fan, following local professional teams, the National Hockey League and favorite tennis stars.
In the 1990s, she began volunteering at the professional tennis tournament that became known as the SAP Open, where she got to meet the pros and watch quality tennis up close.
Betty and Dick traveled to nearly every continent and dozens of countries, but her favorite place was the family cabin outside of Shingletown, CA, where, from 1962 on, she and Dick spent every summer. Their children and grandchildren, as well as an ever-expanding group of friends and neighbors, would join them on the cabin deck for dinner and good fellowship.
In her later years, Betty took up spin classes at the gym, gardened, attended her grandchildren’s events and savored her summers at the cabin. Betty also knitted personalized, sparkly Christmas stockings for all the children in her immediate and extended families, and later, for the new arrivals of many friends and acquaintances in Orinda.
Betty was the loving mother of Bruce and Lynda, beloved mother-in-law of Dave and Barbara, dear sister-in-law of Suzy and proud grandmother of Hannah, Brian and Allison. She was also the aunt to her late brother Howard’s children, Charles, Jim, Bruce and Karen.
Betty lived a full life and will be lovingly remembered by family and friends as a wonderful mother, grandmother, wife, nurse, volunteer and sports fan. She will be dearly missed and forever in our hearts.
