Obituary of Judith Ann Bottenberg

Judith Ann Basham Bottenberg (Judy) of Boulder Creek, beloved wife, mother, and sister, daughter, and grandmother passed away on Sunday, December 21st, 2014. Judy spent her life as a wonderful companion to her husband Bill Bottenberg, as a devoted mother to her daughters and loving B.B. to her four grandchildren. Judy spent her life educating young people and was a true world traveler. She traveled with her mother all over the world visiting Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Antarctica. Judy had a quick wit and a sharp sense of style. Judy was born on November 6, 1947 in Rome, Italy to her parents Marion Houser and Mary Wilhelmine Basham. Judy started her life living in post WWII Rome, Italy in a castle. Her father was an American Army officer and then in the State Department based in Europe. The family's next station was in Warsaw, Poland in 1948. Judy learned Polish as a little girl and famously told a train conductor, in perfect Polish, that she would carry her doll case when alighting the train, thank you very much. Judy then lived in Vienna, Austria until she finally sailed to America at six years old, settling in Coalinga, California. Judy and her family enjoyed spending long summers together at Lake Samish, Washington in a rustic lake cabin that was the scene of many wonderfully cooked salmon and steamed clam meals. Judy graduated from Coalinga High School in 1965. In her junior year in high school her family lived abroad again in Madrid, Spain, where Judy met a wonderful group of Spanish teenagers and was entertained with cookouts by the river and dancing in the town plaza. Judy graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a degree in history in 1968. She met her dear husband, Bill, at a dance in her first semester. Bill and Judy married in the summer of 1968 and had their first home together in Pico Rivera, CA. From there they moved to Riverside, Redlands, San Diego and Poway. Judy had a wonderful alto voice and enjoyed singing many Handel's Messiahs with Bill in the Redlands Community Music Association. Judy and Bill lived in New Hampshire for a few years and enjoyed the nice snowy winters and tasty lobsters with friends. They returned to California in 1979 where they settled in Thousand Oaks for the next 10 years. She and her husband often enjoyed classical music at the Hollywood Bowl with their friends. Judy taught elementary school in Southern California and was a preschool teacher in Delaware and at Little People's School in Boulder Creek for the last 17 years of her life. Judy enjoyed taking walks in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, excursions to the beaches for sea shell combing and dining on well cooked crab cakes. Judy was a member of the American Association of University Women for 35 years and particularly enjoyed the gourmet cooking groups in Thousand Oaks, Newark DE and Santa Cruz. She loved the friends she met and the adventures of good cooking and enjoying meals with them. Judy is survived by her husband of 46 years, William Robert Bottenberg, Jr.; her mother, Mary Basham; her only sibling, Clint Basham (Merrily); two daughters, Catharine Bottenberg Clay (Robb), and Helen Carrie Bottenberg; and four grandchildren, Mallory, Kale, Charles, and Oliver. A Celebration of Life will be held at the family home on March 14th. Please consider a gift to a cancer foundation or charity in her memory.