Beatrice Dimpfl

Beatrice Ann Dimpfl (1/1/1920-8/27/21), formerly of Kentfield, died in her home last month in Walnut Creek, aged 101. She was the first baby born in San Francisco on New Year’s Day 1920, to Henry and Hilda Kroger. Always a bright, pretty blonde with a sweet and sparkling personality, she graduated from Lowell High School and then from U. C. Berkeley with a B.S. in Chemistry (with honors) in 1941, unusual for a woman at the time. She worked at Shell Development Company before marrying Ludwig Hans Dimpfl, a chemical engineer with Chevron Research, in 1942. They had four children: Diane (Cobb), William Dimpfl, Claudia (O’Hanrahan), and Joan (Harland), moving first to Berkeley and then to Kentfield in 1957. Bea loved to garden, socialize, decorate, and travel. The high point of her life was in the 1960s when the entire family moved to the Middle East after Lud took a position in Abadan, Iran. She loved to haggle with merchants in the bazaar, where she became something of a legend. Bea never lived overseas again but she traveled extensively. Bali was her favorite place in the world. She loved her home and garden and designed a wall in the garden featuring a pair of beautiful carved Balinese doors. In her later years, she joined the California Horticultural Society, the Diablo Women’s Garden Club, and a memoirs group in Walnut Creek. She was a lifelong member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. Up until her last week, she loved to read (without glasses!) and was a joy to be around. She is survived by three children, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.