Audrey Esther Pipkorn de Jesus' Obituary
Audrey Esther Pipkorn de Jesus
Audrey saw her first morning on October 2, 1933 at 6:45 AM at her home in Granville, WI. Her parents Esther Emma Moths Pipkorn and William Gustav Pipkorn welcomed her into a family that already included oldest sister Dolores and big brother James. Her early memories were filled with family, school and goats as her father kept a herd of up to 25 dairy goats to help supplement his income as a mailman.
Audrey had a lifelong love of music. She started singing in first grade, started piano lessons when she was 7 or 8 and learned how to sing in harmony or other “voices”. In high school, she played double bass in the orchestra, joined the chorus, and became a member of the a capella choir (the best voices from the chorus). She would continue to sing for much of the rest of her life, including many church and some larger choirs. Her family members regularly enjoyed receiving her annual solo renditions of “Happy Birthday” until the end of her life.
While studying to be a nurse at Milwaukee Hospital, she met Yolando de Jesus at a USO dance in 1954 . He was from the Philippines and a new recruit at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He thrilled her fellow nursing students by serenading her under the window at her dorm (Filipino custom of harana) but she mostly felt embarrassed. Despite that reaction she and he shared her love of singing and song, and a passion for dancing. After Yolando left Great Lakes he was sent to Norfolk, VA. Audrey traveled to meet him and they decided to marry on Oct 3, 1955, the day between their 2 birthdays (his was Oct 2), but they were informed that because they were from 2 different races it was illegal in that state, so they crossed over to North Carolina and married on Oct. 4.
For Audrey and her husband, family was the primary focus of their lives. WIth Yolando’s military career that meant moving their growing family to many duty stations in Memphis (TN), Guam, Bethesda (MD), San Diego (CA), Subic Bay (Philippines), Athens (GA), Mayport (FL), Charleston (SC), Great Lakes (IL) and finally Alameda (CA) where the family settled in a house in Union City. This life-on-the-move gave the family opportunities to visit far flung relatives and friends. Audrey corresponded with many people from these journeys and loved seeing new places, cultures and trying the foods.
Most recently she was living at Chaparral House in Berkeley. She was a member of Good Shepherd’s congregation for 42 years.
Audrey is survived by her 7 children: 5 daughters, Marta de Jesus of Ventura, CA, Lisa de Jesus of Hayward, Elena Rodgers of Sacramento, CA, Laura de Jesus of El Cerrito, CA and Nerisa de Jesus of El Cerrito, CA; 2 sons, Joseph of Olympia, WA and Alejandro of San Francisco, CA; 2 sisters, Lois Robinson of Knoxville, Tennessee and Arlynn Joaquin of Beach Park, IL as well as 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by her husband Yolando Cruz de Jesus and older sister Dolores Pipkorn and brother James Pipkorn.
The family also encourages charitable donations to be made to Bay Area Rescue Mission, Heifer International and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
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