Alberta Dean Whalen

Alberta Dean Whalen, beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend left to meet our Lord on October 11, 2024.
Alberta Dean (Smith) Whalen was born on April 27, 1929 at home in Oakland, California. Alberta was proud to say she lived in the Bay Area her entire life. She graduated from Acalanes Union High School in Lafayette and later went on to graduate from Providence School of Nursing in Oakland and Las Positas College in Livermore.
She practiced nursing at both Peralta and Providence Hospitals in Oakland where she worked in the Operating Room and the Intensive Care Units. During that time, she met the love of her life, Joseph Whalen at an Irish Dance in San Francisco. They were married in 1954 at a church wedding in Santa Barbara, California and settled into a home in Oakland. Alberta often would say that Joe and she " danced their way through life together "
The Whalen family moved to Livermore in 1962 where Joe and Alberta would remain until death. Alberta stopped working upon the birth of her first child to become a dedicated and loving mother of her three sons, Michael, Joseph and William.
Alberta spent her later years volunteering for the American Red Cross and she pursued her interest in painting with the Livermore Art Association. She was also a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West and she served as a private duty nurse for a local family. Alberta will be missed by all of those whose lives she touched but will not be forgotten.
Alberta is preceded in death by her brothers Aghee, Vernon Lee, Melvin and Charles and her sister Dorthy and her husband Joseph. Alberta is survived by her sons Michael (Hope), Joseph (Linda) and William (Dawn); her granddaughters Tisha Simpson, Faith Whalen, Joy Balemi (David), Samantha Vreeland (Jimmy) and Sarah Whalen; her great-granddaughter Addison (Addie); and her great-grandsons Christopher (Topher) and Desmond (Des).
Her service will be held at St. Michael's Church, 458 Maple Street, Livermore, CA 94550, on October 28, 2024 at 11:00 a.m., followed by burial at St. Michael's Cemetery, 3885 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550, at 12:15 p.m. The family asks that in lieu of flowers you make a donation in her name to either Hope Hospice or the American Red Cross.