Berta Anne Richardson

1940 - 2025

Berta Anne Richardson (née Bogan), age 85, of Watsonville, California, passed away peacefully on October 19, 2025, following a prolonged struggle with Parkinson's disease. She was surrounded by family at a hospice facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Berta was born on March 16, 1940, in Pensacola, Florida, the second of four children born to Leslie and Margarita Bogan (née Cawthon). She spent her early years in Atlanta, Georgia (1942–1956), before her family returned to the Pensacola/Gulf Breeze area during her adolescence. She graduated from Pensacola High School and later attended Tulane University's all-women's college, Newcomb College, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In June 1959, Berta married Lieutenant Commander Bruce Alden Richardson while he was completing flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Following a brief period in San Diego during Bruce's Naval service, the couple relocated to Berkeley, California, his hometown, where both attended the University of California, Berkeley. Berta earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and Bruce completed his law degree.

While living in Berkeley, Berta gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Lisa Ann Richardson, in 1960. In 1962, the family moved to Watsonville, California, where their second child, a son, Keith Alden Richardson, was born. Berta and Bruce divorced in 1974 but remained on amicable terms.

Following her divorce, Berta worked in the construction industry, becoming one of the first female union laborers in Santa Cruz County. She later apprenticed as a carpenter and, in her later years, was employed by the Pajaro Valley Unified School District as an Adult Education teacher.
During her more than six decades in Watsonville, Berta was deeply committed to community service. She volunteered extensively with numerous charitable organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and Planned Parenthood, and provided generous support to many other causes. A gifted performer, she studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and appeared in productions at Cabrillo College and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Notably, she performed the role of Calpurnia in a 1969 production of Julius Caesar, featuring costumes designed by legendary comic book creator Jack Kirby. A photograph from that production was recently featured in a Jack Kirby retrospective at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Berta greatly valued time spent with her children, grandchildren, extended family, and lifelong friends, particularly those in her book club and Shakespeare study group.

She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Martha and Thomas Hardin; her children, Lisa Richardson and Keith Richardson; her daughter-in-law, Thresa Richardson; her grandchildren, Casey Richardson, PhD, and Cory Bowdish; her step-grandchildren, Shaina and Jordan Katz; and numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her brothers, Leslie Eugene Bogan, Jr. (Geno), and Steven Bogan, as well as her nephew, David Bogan, all of Gulf Breeze, Florida.

A celebration of Berta's life will be held in March in Watsonville, California.