Theo Christiana Klaseen Sieg
May 17, 1951 - September 18, 2022
With quilt fat quarters on the ironing board and beef broth bubbling on the stove, Theo Sieg left us suddenly, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in San Rafael, CA.
Born on “Tuolumne Cooperative Farm” in Modesto, she attended North Davis Elementary, Buckeye Elementary, Central Valley High, Shasta High, and Humboldt State College.
Theo lived in Davis, Redding, Arcata, Paris, Bangkok, San Francisco, Mendocino, and San Rafael. In addition, for two years, she lived and traveled in a converted school bus, driving throughout America, where she homeschooled her two spunky children and gave advice and support to her creative photographer husband, Ron.
Theo worked as a lifeguard, camp counselor, Busvan clerk, Thai restaurant hostess, daffodil picker, ESL teacher, VRBO host, cab driver, and finally as dispatcher for DeSoto and then Flywheel Cab Company. If you got a ride in the last 10 years, you probably talked to Theo.
She loved “working the phones,” helping people in need get critical transportation while being sure that her diverse group of cab drivers were able to take as many calls as possible. She loved and was adept at picking up new words from the languages of her drivers and customers. Her cab passengers recognized her by the colorful silk flowers in her hair and the interest she showed in each of them. She was a gold mine of service to her customers.
Her joys included: finding beautiful fabrics to sew yet more pillow cases, raising epiphyllums, reading fantasy science fiction, (Robin McKinley and Patricia Briggs), and cooking a good pot of beans or pork roast. She treasured time with her adventuresome children and daughter-in-law. She was an avid newspaper reader and puzzle page solver. Her intellect was vast.
Theo is preceded in death by her mother and father, Vi and Ted Klaseen, her mother-in-law Katie Sieg, and her nephew Anders Prokop. Leaving to mourn her are husband, Ron Sieg; son, Toby Sieg and her new joy, her daughter-in-law, Nadia Mendez; all of San Rafael, California; as well as her daughter, Stina Sieg, Western Slope Colorado Public Radio reporter, Grand Junction, Colorado.
She is also survived by brothers, Sven Klaseen, and Nels Klaseen, and sister Elin Klaseen (Bob) all of of Redding; and sister, Joanna K. Pace (Clay,) of El Cerrito; as well as her niblings, Ruth Pace of Pittsburgh, PA; Ingmar (Andrea) Prokop of Bellingham, WA; and Sofia Prokop (Bobby) of Hood River, OR, and cousins in California, Colorado, and Sweden.
Theo’s outdoor Celebration of Life is at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24. Contact a family member or (510) 860-3696 for details. No one leaves without an epi!
Remember Theo when you buy a book at Dark Carnival Bookstore, or a hank of fabric at Bay Quilts, or send a memorial gift to San Francisco Epiphyllum Society, 2520 Crestmoor Drive, San Bruno, CA, 94066.