Alberta Mary Stauss

Alberta Mary Stauss Mother to All Alberta Mary Stauss passed away on May 1, 2008 in the loving company of her family. Alberta was born February 10, 1924 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Walter and Mary Jacobi.,. The Jacobi family lived in Utah until 1934 when they moved to California. Alberta lived out her life in California, studying architecture at UC Berkeley, singing in operettas in San Francisco, marrying and raising a family, and devoting many hours as a volunteer caring for the elderly and the disadvantaged. She was a long-time member of the De Oro Club in Cupertino and the German Ladies' Benevolent Society in San Francisco. She married George Stauss in 1949. They lived a long, fulfilling life together. A woman of high principles, she raised her four children with a loving but firm hand. In 1970-71 she and her three younger children (the eldest was away at college) spent the school year in Innsbruck, Austria, where they acquired new friends and invaluable experience with a different language and culture. After her children left the nest, she completed her Bachelor's degree at San Jose State, and then she and George traveled the world-exploring China, Bali, Brazil, Tanzania, Scotland, Germany, and Mexico. In addition to nurturing her own children, Alberta was a surrogate mother to many: a niece and a nephew, grandnieces, several exchange students and anyone else who needed the warm embrace of a mother. She was a very giving, caring, person. Alberta is survived by her children: Steven Stauss of Half Moon Bay, Marlene Bottenfield of Auburn, Eric Stauss and daughter-in-law Paige of Granite Bay, Walter Stauss and Glenn Weyhausen of Aptos. She is also remembered by her nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, and her two brothers Arno Jacobi of Belmont and Albert Jacobi of Granite Bay, and dearly missed by her caregiver, Loata Lutu. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, George Stauss, her sister, Edna Henard, her brothers, Walter Jacobi and Leo Jacobi, and her two grandchildren, Ruthie and Verena Cady. There will be no formal memorial services. Both Alberta and George Stauss were strong ardent supporters of the California coastal redwoods. Please consider making a donation to the Sempervirens Fund in their memory at www.sempervirens.org (PO Drawer BE, Los Altos, CA 94023).