Roberta Ruth Balduc better known as Bert, passed away at age 58, peacefully in her home on Friday, Sept. 30, 2011.
She was a devoted mother & grandmother. She lived her life to take care of us all. You could call her anytime day or night and she would be there for you, whether family or a friend. She considered most friends like family. If there was anything she could possibly do for others it was done no questions asked & she didn't ask for anything in return. She also volunteered at our local food bank, doing what she could to give back to our community.
Bert was born Nov. 28, 1952, in San Bernadino, Calif., to Albert & Johnnye Balduc. She went home to join her older siblings John & Linda. Little brother Michael was born in 1958.
In the late 1950's Johnnye moved her children to Ridgecrest, Calif., in the Mojave Desert. This was a great place to be a little kid. Bert was a born leader and would lead the neighborhood kids in all kinds of activities, like building a fort in the desert, or digging a big hole in the alley behind the family home and filling it with water for all the kids to swim in on a hot summer day. When her stepfather drove down the alley on his way home, that was the end of the swimming hole.
She & her siblings would catch desert turtles & enter them in the turtle races at the county fair. Bert, Linda, Michael & cousin DeeDee loved going to the fair, riding rides & horses.
Bert practically lived at the public pool on hot summer days. She swam like a fish & dove off the high dive better than the big kids. She was such a good athlete; the women's softball team let her join the team.
Bert was a quick study & learned easily. When she was very young she learned to play the guitar & drew beautiful desert landscapes with charcoal. Her & her brother John would make popcorn & play marathon monopoly, she treasured that time & it became family tradition.
She was a free spirit with a flair for life. Her stepbrother, Tony Harris remembers her in her late teens, wearing jeans, a tie dye shirt, a backpack, a guitar, a dog, and a bandana with her long brown hair blowing in the wind with her thumb out hitching for a ride out of town...off on another adventure.
By this time part of the family was living in Winnemucca. Her father Albert moved to Winnemucca in 1965. Shortly after Linda & her husband Richie, Kirk & baby Sherry moved to Winnemucca. Bert soon followed. It was in Winnemucca that Tony saw Bert hitchhiking. Her father Albert married Margaret Harris in Winnemucca in the mid 1960's. She had 5 kids; Bert loved the joining of the two families. They would get in the back of the old pick up truck & go to Water Canyon, Rye Patch, & the Sandunes.
Bert met Ralph Mochamp in the early 1970's. Their daughter, Suzanne was born July 23, 1976, in Winnemucca. Bert & Ralph had rocky times but always remained friends, but Suzanne was always the light of her life.
Bert's mother passed away in 1968, her father in 1980. Bert is survived by her partner Ralph, daughter Suzanne, grandchildren, Michael, Felicia, Marianna, great-grand daughter Shanel, brothers John, Michael, sister, Linda, stepbrothers Dale, Tony, stepsisters Sherry, Sandra, stepmother Margaret, nieces & nephews Brandon, Browyn, Sherry, Rick, and numerous great nieces & nephews.
Bert lived her life to the beat of her own drum. She loved people & animals. She truly had a heart of gold & is an angel among us all now. She touched many lives & will be missed by many.
The family will have a private service this weekend followed by a celebration of life "The Bert Way". Come & join us at the Mine Shaft, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, at 3:30pm. We'll do the Bridge Street walk. Bert would love it. Please join us in this celebration of a wonderful life.
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