Bessie Wilds

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A lifelong Lake County resident, Bessie Wilds passed away Saturday, May 17, 2014, at the age of 85.

Bessie was born March 16, 1929, on a hop ranch in Scotts Valley to John and Edith Woodward, the youngest of four daughters.

Bessie moved with the family to Hartley Street to attend elementary and high school.

During her high school years she helped her father operate a Shell Oil Gas Station located at 11th and Main streets in Lakeport.

She was devoted to her mother, who did not drive and had difficulty walking.

Bessie graduated high school in 1948 and married Junior C. Wilds. They made their home outside of Kelseyville and raised their son and daughter on a walnut ranch.

Bessie was a member of the Kelseyville Women's Club and also active in the local Lions Club.

During the 1970s and 1980s she was a waitress at Anne Card's Coffee Shop in Kelseyville.

In 1986 Bessie and Junior sold their walnut ranch to Beringer Winery and downsized to a small parcel near the vineyard. They watched the transformation from trees to vines.

After the loss of Junior in 2002, Bessie became a solitary person, preferring to live a quiet life.

She loved to sit at her kitchen table listening to KNBR or KGO and the police scanner, and watch the traffic. Her cats and the hummingbirds gave her great pleasure.

Bessie is survived by her son, Ron Wilds; daughter Cheryl (Ernie) Ostern; sister-in-laws, Gloria Wilds and Laura Buchanan; and brother-in-law, George Wilds; four nephews; and six nieces.

Services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, June 5, at Kelseyville Cemetery, 3375 Bell Hill Road, Kelseyville. A reception will follow.

For further information please call Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary at 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .