Lydia Gentz

1921 - 2014

Lydia Gentz, 92, left us on August 14, 2014 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.   She was born November 26, 1921 in Rockvale, Colorado to Nannie Pamelia and Evard Mason Brinlee.  Lydia began working to help her family when she was 11 years old, picking beans, weeding vegetables, washing windows, whatever she could do.  She often talked about how she enjoyed milking goats.  She attended elementary and high school in Florence, Colorado, graduating in 1940.  She was a member of the Mask and Wig Club, the Thespians, and the National Honor Society. 
Two weeks after graduating from high school, on June 8, 1940, she married Leroy "Babe" Gentz.  Six months after they were married, they moved to California.  Lydia graduated from the Red Cross School of Practical Nursing in January 1944 and worked in the Hayward Hospital, Veteran's Sawtelle Hospital and the Home for Spastics and Paralytics.   At that time she was the only nurse for 17 patients 24 hours a day.   
Lydia and "Babe" moved to Akron, Colorado in January of 1947 where she worked at the Washington County Public Hospital, Dr. Davie, and later for Dr. Tedrick.   She was the person so many people in Akron turned to for loving care.  She was "there" for everyone, always willing to lend a hand as a nurse and as a friend.  
After retiring from nursing in Akron, Lydia went on to be an in-home caregiver,    caring for individuals from Washington state to California.  In 2002, she moved to Mesa, AZ to be near family.   
As her loving and giving spirit defined her life, she continues to give in death. She donated her body to science to enable others to learn and develop. As this process takes time, services will be held in Akron on Monday, September 22 at 9:00 a.m. at the Methodist Church with burial following at Akron Cemetery.