Garnet Ada Ilgen

aged 96, died peacefully on January 18, 2009, in Concord, California, where she lived. Born in Marshfield, Wisconsin, to William Kalsched and Arvilla Condit, she was preceded in death by Berle Ilgen, her husband of 50 years; her brothers, Edward and William Kalsched; her twin sister Ruby Service; and her daughter, Victoria Skelton. Music was an important part of her life. She played the piano, sang, and whistled professionally. In 1933-1934 she and her sisters sang as a trio at the Chicago World's Fair. In 1942 she headed west to join the war effort, and landed a job at Lockheed. In 1943, she married Berle Ilgen, and together they moved to San Gabriel, California, where they raised their family of five, including three children from her widowed husband's prior marriage. In 1972 she and her husband moved to La Verne, where she had many friends and was an active member of the First Christian Church of Pomona. Health problems made it necessary for her to move north to Concord, California, where her son Robert and his wife Judith, and her son Jon, saw to her care at Penny's Guest Home. She is survived by her sister, Arvilla Hagan, her sister-in-law Madeleine Kalsched, her sons William (Eleanor), Robert (Judith), Jon, and Gary. Surviving her also are four grandchildren: Marya Ilgen-Lieth, Marc Ilgen, Delese Skelton, and William Ilgen, six great-grandchildren, four nieces, and three nephews. Her remains will be interred in a niche in Napa Valley Memorial Park in California, near those of her twin sister Ruby. A memorial service will be held for her in Pomona later in the year.