Greta Head

1908 - 2011

Greta Head
Sept 10, 1908 - Oct 27, 2011
Greta Marie Head went to be with the Lord Thursday, October 27, 2011 at age 103 in Modesto, California where she had lived for about the past 12 years.  For the past five years, she was a resident of Pacifica Senior Living, Modesto.  Greta was born Greta Marie Bantly in Oakley, Kansas, September 10, 1908.  She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law John and Ione Bantly of Concord, Ca, her son and daughter-in-law Mike and Kim Caskey of Escalon, daughter-in-law Debbie Thornhill of Bakersfield, Ca, grandson and grand daughter-in-law Robert Allen, Jr. and Tambra Ann Head of Bakersfield, Ca., grandson and granddaughter-in-law Christopher and Catherine Caskey of Escalon, Ca. granddaughter and grandson-in-law Jerilynn and Michael Kenny of San Francisco, Ca. and granddaughter Erika Carabajal of Bakersfield, great grandsons Nicholas Kenny of San Francisco, Ca. and Brady Head of Bakersfield, Ca., and great granddaughters Aubree Head of Bakersfield, Ca. and Kailey Fernandez in Okinawa, as well as many loving nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband, James Elvis Head, her son Robert Allen Head Sr., brothers and sisters-in-law Van and Julia Bantly and Jim and Jean Bantly.
Greta attended college at the University of Kansas, graduated with a degree in nursing and served as an RN for almost 50 years.  When World War II broke out, she was assigned overseas duty in the China-Burma-India theatre.  She was in the first group of Army nurses to fly over the Himalaya Mountains into Burma where she served close to the front.  She returned to Bakersfield, California where she served as a nurse with Kern General Hospital, finishing her time with Kern General as the Director of Nurses for the Tuberculosis sanitarium in Keene, Ca.  While at Kern General, she met and married James Head.  After James passed away, she went back to work as a charge nurse in a convalescent facility where she worked into her seventies.  
Greta loved her family and remained close to her brothers and sisters-in-law and their families, enjoying family reunions and get-togethers.  She loved going out to dinner with friends and family.  She especially loved breakfast at Denny's after a ride, hot dogs, Fritos, Pepsi, and Fiddle-Faddle.   She was a strong Christian and was a member of Valley Baptist Church of Bakersfield, Ca.  A couple of Greta's favorite sayings include: "We're off like a herd of turtles"; "There's nothin' like family"; and "Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5)".  We love you and we'll truly miss you, Mom.
 Services will be held at the Chapel at Hillcrest Memorial Park and Mortuary in Bakersfield, Ca., Tuesday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m. Donations can be sent in Loving Memory to the VFW-Tehachapi (Post 5948) or VFW-Bakersfield (Post 3741), the American Red Cross, the Humane Society, or Valley Baptist church of Bakersfield.  Arrangements by Deegan Funeral Chapel in Escalon www.deeganfuneralchapels.com
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