Got old Tennis Balls?
Anne Rumrill Culver entered eternal life on Saturday, July 26, 2014. Her spirit is carried on by her three children, three grandchildren and an extended family of relations and friends from every walk of life.
We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Anne during her 96 years, among them: Never throw away old tennis balls. Use the old ones as door jams, hanging garage guides, hand-exercisers, gutters-plugs in the event of a fire, swimming tools to be tucked under the chin to better learn the breaststroke and butterfly techniques or bumpers for your younger brother’s sailboat.
In her lifetime, Anne had more adventures than Huck Finn. She fell in love with her husband, Bob, in fifth grade at Long Beach school. They would meet again later in life at their Alma Mater, Cal Berkeley and eventually marry.
Anne received her orders to serve in World War II literally on her wedding day, and joined the first group of Navy Waves as a Lieutenant in electronics, chaperoning 400 men and women on a troop ship bound for Pearl Harbor.
Upon discharge from the military, Anne played and coached tennis at schools, playgrounds, and clubs throughout the Bay Area. She was also a dance instructor for UC Berkeley, and often held lavish garden parties at her home in the Berkeley Hills for a plethora of individuals such as Gray Davis, Jerry Brown, and close family friend, Jack Dempsey. She was also a dedicated member of the Berkeley Tennis club where she facilitated countless lessons.
But those who’ve taken her most important lessons to heart can ensure that a scoop of cottage cheese with golden raisins every night will clear the mind (and the body), that blue jays and cardinals should be treated as peers and as such, spoken to and serenaded often, that sunsets exist to toast and dance before with those we love most, that the Cal Bears are the best team and anyone who doesn’t agree is not necessarily wrong but not entirely right either, that a little sand in one’s peanut butter and pickle sandwich provides extra texture and builds character, that Stinson beach is a second home, Cancun, Mexico, a third home, and Berkeley, California, the greatest of homes, that a positive attitude is a better healer than any prescription medication, and most importantly, Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be.
She is survived by her brother, Richard Rumrill; children: Kip, Rill and Kym; grandchildren: Sean, Jenny and Karim; and many friends and family too numerous to list but not forgotten.
Anne is reunited in spirit with her husband and favorite dance/tennis partner, Robert L. Culver, and her brother, Johnny Rumrill.
Feel free to leave your memories of Anne Rumrill Culver in the Comments.
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