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Bertha Brown Read
July 19, 1925 ~ October 28, 2015
Carmel Valley, CA
Bertha was born in Hobart, Oklahoma on July 19, 1925 as Bertha Beatrice Lipps.
In 1948 she married Fay McKinley Brown and moved to Panama where the couple went to work in the Public Works Department of the Naval Operating Base at Coco Solo, the Canal Zone. During Bertha's 23-year career in the Canal Zone, she held several positions and received many awards and outstanding performance ratings. While working full-time, she managed to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude from Florida State University in the Department of Anthropology.
Upon retirement in 1980, she moved to Carmel Valley, later marrying Robert G. Read in 1988.
During her time in Panama, she made numerous trips to the San Blas Islands, which led to an ongoing love affair with the Kuna Indians and to the collecting of the mola, a blouse that is worn by the Kuna women. She accumulated a collection of 600 molas, of only the finest needlework craftsmanship. A vast majority of her collection has been donated to the Panama Canal Museum so they can be displayed, preserved and appreciated for decades to come.
Bertha is predeceased by her late husband, Robert. She is survived by 6 step-children, Michael Read, Terrie Kvenild, Patrick Read, Leslie Weseman, Sidney Grace and Samuel Read; and by the Garcia-Pereira family: Oliverio, Yanira, Bobby, Noemy and Daniel.
A memorial service will be held 2:00 P.M., Saturday, December 12, 2015 at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, 28005 Robinson Canyon Road, Carmel, California.
View the online memorial for Bertha Brown Read
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Monterey Herald.
1 Entry
In my 28 years at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History,Bertha was one of the most wonderful individuals to work with.Her Mola exhibits were exceptional, as were her talks on the Cuna Indians.She was a very elegant Anthropologist.
Paul Finnegan
November 25, 2015
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