Myrna E. Valdez
Dec. 29, 1937-Feb. 20, 2014
Bridgeport, California
Submitted by Nina JeckerByrne

Myrna E. Valdez died of complications following surgery in Carson City on February 20, 2014. She was 75 years old. Myrna is survived by her husband, one son, two daughters, two step-daughters and 14 grandchildren.

Myrna was born in Denver, Colo. to Alice and Milton S. Johnson. She grew up in Englewood, Colo. and graduated from Englewood High School in 1956. She attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where she majored in English and was active in the Mountaineering Club.

She moved to the California Bay Area in 1958, where she worked for Stanford University in various departments, retiring as the administrator of the Stanford Linear Accelerator in 1993. She was known for being kind and efficient, good with people, for making much-appreciated birthday cakes for her co-workers and so much more.

Myrna loved the beauty of wild places and outdoor activities like hiking, camping, backpacking and skiing. She ignited this same passion in her family and friends, and in many young women as a Girl Scout troop leader.

Upon retiring, Myrna moved to Swauger Creek, near Bridgeport, Calif., in the southeastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, where she and her husband of 49 years, Ramon V. Valdez, built their dream home. She spent nearly 20 years there enjoying visits with friends and family and cooking and caring for everyone whose life touched hers. She cultivated wildflowers around the house and grew gladiolus, begonias, tomatoes, geraniums and many other flowering plants in her greenhouse.

Though she is physically gone, her spirit thrives in our hearts and memories.