FREDERICK EARL STERNKOPF (May 2, 1937-October 20, 2024)
Frederick Earl Sternkopf passed away on October 20, 2024 in Fort Bragg, CA. Born on May 2, 1937 in Lansing, MI, Frederick was the son of Fred and Marie (Schoenfeld) Sternkopf. He is survived by his wife Beverly; children Kristin (Don Palmer) of Mount Vernon, WA and Peter (Teri) of Sherwood, OR; as well as their children, Sarah (Palmer Gannon), and Payden, Nolen, and Ryen Sternkopf. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister Rosemarie Chlebus.
After growing up in Jackson, MI, Frederick went on to the Michigan State University where he graduated with a degree in business. This led him to work in advertising in San Francisco, CA where he was able to use his artistic abilities. After a few diversions in life, he ended up in Mendocino, CA.
There he immersed himself in his art, sculpture, mobiles, and his weekly cartoon strip Dr. Doo. He volunteered for the Mendocino Music Festival every year. Along the way he met Beverly and they married in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They live quietly in Caspar. Frederick was kind to all and is greatly missed.
Adieu To Dr. Doo
by Jim Shields
When I learned that Fred Sternkopf, long-time brilliant cartoonist at the Anderson Valley Advertiser and more recently at the Observer, passed away, I felt things will never be the same because Fred was a true one-man institution.
The Shields family sends it condolences to the Sternkopf family on their loss. Fred was a very bright man, entertaining conversationalist, and enormously talented and witty cartoonist. The Arts Council Of Mendocino County described Fred’s artistic style as “Visual: Abstract, Conceptual, Contemporary, Experimental, Expressionistic, Figurative, Icongraphic/Iconoclastic, Illustrative, Minimalism, Political, Pop, Portraiture, Site-Specific, Social Commentary, and Symbolic.”
(The Mendocino County Observer)
KURT SMALLCOMB: ‘GENEROUS SPIRIT, INFECTIOUS LAUGHTER, AND UNWAVERING LOVE’
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Kurt Oren Smallcomb, a devoted husband, father, son, and friend. Kurt unexpectedly left us on February 4th, 2025 at the age of 62. Kurt touched the lives of everyone he met with his generous spirit, infectious laughter, and unwavering love for his family and friends.
Kurt was born on March 22, 1962, in Beloit, Kansas to Darol and Glenda Smallcomb. The Smallcomb family moved to Santa Rosa shortly after Kurt’s birth. Kurt attended Bennett Valley Elementary School and Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa. He developed lifelong friendships while attending Montgomery. Kurt played baseball and had awards named after him to honor his work ethic, hustle, and drive. Kurt was the ultimate teammate and served as a shining example of compassion and kindness, always ready to lend a helping hand to those around him.
Kurt met the love of his life Kristi while they were attending the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Kurt and Kristi were married on May 30th, 1981.
As a husband, Kurt prioritized love and support, laying a foundation of strength and joy in his marriage. Together, they created a beautiful family anchored in mutual respect, understanding, and laughter. As a dedicated father, Kurt embraced the joy of guiding his children, Kayle and Kami, in their dreams and aspirations teaching them the values of kindness, resilience, and the importance of following their ambitions.
Kurt was a beloved son, deeply cherished by his parents. Kurt had a special bond with his family, bringing warmth and connection to every gathering. His friendships transcended mere acquaintanceship, those who knew him experienced his love, unwavering loyalty, and zest for life.
Kurt had a love and sincere passion for public service.
He was a retired Captain from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office where he served the County for over 30 years. He volunteered with Special Olympics where he helped countless special-needs youth and adults enjoy sports and dances. Kurt volunteered for the City of Ukiah youth sports programs for almost 40 years. He was not only a coach and mentor to the youth of this area, but a friend and surrogate father to many. He was one of the most selfless people to ever walk this Earth and he absolutely loved public service.
Kurt absolutely loved sports. He loved watching, playing, and coaching all sports with the exception of soccer (many of you know why). He instilled his love of sports to his daughter Kayle, son-in-law Quincy Cromer, and granddaughter Kyla. He was extremely proud of and deeply loved coaching and mentoring his granddaughter (and bragging about her accomplishments).
To say Kurt was the best husband, father, grandfather, and friend would be the biggest understatement. Those who were lucky enough to truly know Kurt considered him the best person they had ever met and a hero to many. Kurt is who we should all aspire to be. The world would be a utopian society if we all were more like Kurt Smallcomb.
While his physical presence may be gone, Kurt’s spirit will live on in the hearts of his family and friends. He leaves behind a legacy of love that will continue to inspire those who were fortunate enough to know him.
Kurt will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. His light will continue to shine through the lives of the many he impacted, reminding us all to cherish each moment and love one another fiercely.
Kurt was preceded in death by his beloved father Darol and father-in-law Maynard Thomas. He leaves behind the love of his life, best friend, partner, and heart Kristi, his daughters Kayle and Kami, his son-in-law (son) Quincy Cromer, his absolute pride and joy granddaughter Kyla Cromer, his “surrogate” eldest daughter Megan Turner Brown, his mother Glenda Smallcomb, brother Kevin Smallcomb, sister-in-law Julie Smallcomb, nieces Katie and Kyndle Smallcomb, great niece Klary, brother Greg Smallcomb and his nephews Deron, Nate, and Dylan Smallcomb (and their families). Kurt also leaves behind numerous aunts, cousins, and other “adopted” or “surrogate” family members, too numerous to list.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 15th, 2025 at 2 P.M. at Eversole Mortuary in Ukiah, CA. A celebration of life will be held the same day at 4 P.M. at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center. The family requests that anyone who wishes to honor Kurt in this time of sadness, please volunteer or complete a selfless act of kindness.
FUNDRAISER FOR TRISH BEVERLY, FORMER AV TEACHER, WIFE OF BRUCE PATTERSON, WRITER AND ALSO FORMER RESIDENT OF THE ANDERSON VALLEY
by Abel Patterson
On December 17th, 2024, I drove out to visit my parents for Christmas. I met my father at the door, and he said he was going to the back room to get my mom. To my dismay and horror, he backed out of the bedroom with my mom holding his forearms for stability as she very slowly and unsteadily walked into the hall.
I soon learned that since I had seen her last, just two months prior when she was happily walking miles a day along the creek path, she had fallen several times, including in the supermarket, and was now unable to walk on her own and seemed to be quickly declining.
So we took her to the emergency room to at least start the process of finding out what was happening to her. They began a battery of testing—CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, blood work, cognition tests, brain scans, etc.. All the while she was unable to walk and therefore was dependent upon the nurses for eating, drinking, bathing, and going to the bathroom. At the end of all the testing, she was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer), which had produced a tumor in front of her upper spine and had destroyed her vertebrae, cutting off her brain from her lower extremities and causing partial paralysis. It was also present in most of her bone marrow.
We had two paths-go straight to hospice or try to save her life. She wanted to live, and I was going to honor her wish, despite not knowing what that looked like.
What that would look like we were soon to find out. She was transferred from the local hospital to a larger hospital to have emergency surgery on her spine. Unfortunately, this operation was not life saving but only to spare her further pain from the tumor—the bulk of it was out of reach of the surgeon, in front of her spine.
So she was in recovery from the operation, enduring five days of radiation, wearing a very uncomfortable neck brace for the next month, and putting her through a second surgery to fix the hematoma (blood bubble), which was a complication from the first surgery. She required 24/7 care to help her with all of her bodily functions.
And during that time, she also had two very debilitating urinary tract infections, which caused her dementia to worsen to the point of nightmarish hallucinations and panic attacks where she didn't know where she was and why, culminating in large blood clots in her lungs and leg, swelling her leg to the point where it doubled the other leg in size and sending her back to the ER after I witnessed her have what I thought was a seizure, after which she passed out, slumped in her wheelchair as if she was dead.
All this pain and suffering for a woman who just wants to live. All this pain and suffering, just to be told that she was too weak to receive life-saving chemo. She is no stranger to pain and suffering—reading her list of diagnoses is like an encyclopedia of ailments: dementia, Alzheimer's, severe depression, epilepsy, anxiety disorder, hypothyroidism, and arthritis—all before the cancer. She lost her teeth as a side effect from the epilepsy medication she's been on since she was in her 20s.
This is a woman who spent her life helping others. From the time she was helping take care of her ten younger siblings, through her time in the Peace Corps and as an activist in the feminist movement, through raising me and my disabled younger brother, to being a special education, English-as-a-second-language, and kindergarten teacher, she has cared for others while ignoring her own dreams and desires.
So my job is to try to make the time she has left as pain-free as possible. From the time of her admission to the hospital on December 19th until she was released from the hospital on home hospice at the end of January, I've been her counselor, secretary, and medical advocate and representative. And now I am her caregiver. I've had to learn on the fly how to do bed-to-wheelchair transfers, catheter maintenance, bed baths, and helping her go to the bathroom and clean up afterward. I manage her medication, monitor her pain and confusion, make her food and drinks, and arrange visitors and phone calls.
I am a contractor with 20 years of experience, but no amount of physical exertion, no amount of dry rot or plumbing disaster cleanup, or 80-hour weeks compares to how exhausting my current job is. Those of you who have been caregivers know what I'm talking about. But adding to the difficulty is that this is a 24-hour-a-day job, and this is my mother. At the end of all my efforts will be tragedy, heartbreak, and mourning.
I started this fundraiser because I am no longer working, and caring for her is probably going to last for many more weeks if not months. Both my parents are on their way out, and I'll need to care for my disabled younger brother. The scenario where I navigate these things having exhausted my financial resources compared to the scenario where my finances remain strong is significant. The money will be used to pay my bills and help allow me to pay a caregiver or two for help if I need a break.
Thank you for hearing my story and for considering helping with my fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-a-family-in-crisis-cancer-and-caregiving
ANDERSON VALLEY HS TEACHER FUNDRAISES FOR STUDENT IN COMA
Hello,
Reaching out to share a fundraising effort to support the family of a student at Anderson Valley High School who has been in a coma for a week. Ali Cook, a teacher at AVHS, started the fundraiser to support the 9th grader's family as doctors try to save her life.
"Anderson Valley 9th grader Yeanette has been in a coma for almost a week due to swelling and bleeding in her brain. She is a sweet, intelligent, beautiful, hilarious young lady and is deeply loved by her friends and family. Doctors are doing everything they can for her. During this crisis her mother and father have been vigilantly by her side at the hospital in San Francisco and have been unable to work. Please consider donating to the family to help with a wide variety of needs including but not limited to: food, utilities, rent, medical expenses, transportation costs, and more. Any amount helps."
You can view the full GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/prayers-and-donations-for-yeanettes-family
Kindly,
Alexandra (Alex) White
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
by Terry Sites
In the United States the average age of retirement is 65. This is a pretty good age for curtailing many types of activities. Very physical jobs like firefighter, vineyard worker, or construction crew jobs are best performed by those under 65. When you reach 65 you start to think about what activities you are still capable of and possibly even better at as a senior. Wisdom is supposed to come with age — at the very least the longer you live the more experience you have.
The ideal version of retirement involves doing all the things you never had the time or money for when you were younger. Ideally, this time should feel like one (hopefully) very long vacation.
But wait a minute. Some of us seniors may find ourselves over 65 and not exactly that ideal situation. Maybe health is a problem. Since health is your greatest wealth that really can be a problem. Next, assuming that your health is more or less sound, what about that other kind of health: financial health? Coming up short in this department these days can necessitate a long hard look at ways to earn well into the “golden years”.
A person finding themselves in this category will have to think about how to be an effective earner after 65. What jobs are doable and even enjoyable for a resilient senior?
I decided to test the waters by doing a mailing to 100 friends and acquaintances. One side of my card read, “Odd Woman Seeks Odd Jobs” while the flip side said, “The New Year is here, time to get organized — I can Help.” I included my name and contact information. Attached to each card was a handwritten note. I asked each recipient to recommend me even if they didn’t personally need an “Odd Woman” at the moment. I also listed some possible services including home healthcare, sewing, de-cluttering, cooking, errand running, and writing.
In the week that followed the mailing 20 of the 100 people I mailed to responded in one way or another. Some offered actual jobs, others commented on what I was doing or gave me suggestions or referrals to others. This was a good response rate, which I attribute to the fact that I actually knew every person I mailed to. It was, as they say in sales, a “Hot List.” No matter what you call it, getting that much feedback was gratifying and encouraging.
The second week I started interviewing with potential clients. I visited someone who needed me to feed three horses and three cats at their beautiful ranch home while they travel.
A professional artist took me on a tour of her studio and may hire me to help organize and store pieces of art from her last two shows.
Two charming women from a local commune are looking to organize a lifetime of precious possetions. A book on “Swedish Death Cleaning” inspired one of them.
Apparently in Sweden it is customary to tidy up and pare down your things so that your heirs will not be burdened with a landslide of your lifetime of accumulated “stuff” when you die.
I also heard from people who need help cleaning out garages, offices, their memorabilia, photos and creative writing files. Someone needs “extra hands” for when houseguests arrive. A collector of gorgeous ethnic art, clothes and fabrics wants help preparing for a sale. A person needs dog sitting and someone even needs help dividing clumps of irises in their garden.
It’s now the third week and I’m starting to do some of the jobs that were booked. It has been much more fun than I imagined. I thought re-entering the job market would be hard. Instead I’ve found myself surrounded by beautiful things with friendly people who feed my soul while helping me pay for groceries! In Anderson Valley the homes I’ve worked in have been lovely, many with views to die for. The people I’m working for are definitely blessed. Also many of them are artistic, creative or otherwise unique which makes my life richer.
The take-away from this story is that sometimes lemons (the need to return to work) can turn into lemonade (who knew these jobs would be so interesting?!). I am taking care to log each job and maybe I’ll even write a book about my surprising experiences someday that will encourage other seniors to take heart and go forth boldly if they too need to go back to work in their golden years.
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