Allen Harold Lilleberg

1939 - 2023

Allen Harold Lilleberg

April 22, 1939 - July 8, 2023

NAPA - Allen Harold Lilleberg, born April 22, 1939, began his final journey July 8, 2023, at 84 years old, only a week shy of the one year anniversary of his wife Carol's death. They were married 62 years and were Junior High School sweethearts.

Al was born to Harold and Muriel Lilleberg and grew up in Redwood City. He has fond memories of Sequoia High School and walking the two miles to and from school along the railroad tracks. Al attended San Mateo Junior College earning an AA degree after only five semesters, though he had to take bonehead English twice because he couldn't pass the exam on the first round. He moved on to San Jose State College where he graduated with a BA in Biological Science along with the requirements for a secondary school teaching credential.

In 1962, Al married Carol, his sweetheart in Redwood City. During the draft, Al signed up for the Army Reserve and did six months active duty, then served six years in the reserves as a Pharmacy Technician. He credits his time as a Pharmacy Tech to Carol, who was working for military officials at Stanford Research Lab at the time. On Fridays, he would go to the assignment board for the weekend and notice that his weekends were usually assignment free, again crediting Carol's high standing with the research lab for his free time. Working as a reservist allowed Al to complete his MA in Science Education at San Jose State College.

Al's first teaching jobs were in junior and high schools in the South Bay; unhappy with those experiences he applied to Napa High School where he taught Chemistry, Natural and Earth Sciences and later the first environmental classes in Napa County. After Vintage High School was built in the early 1970', Al was assigned there and stayed for 38 years, until he retired in 1999.

In his younger years, Al traveled throughout California. Riding the bus up to the Trinity Mountains, he helped his father build the infamous cabin adjacent to the Trinity River. The cabin was his father's idea, a place Al and his sister could roam and explore outside of the busy Bay Area. There the family enjoyed fishing, hiking and being together. Al also rigorously explored the South Bay, rescuing, refurbishing and exploring with a small boat he found in the bay, south of the Dunsmire Bridge. In fact, he knew the area so well, he could tell you the cross-streets where the elusive red railroad glass could be found for your collection. During this time, Al would ride the bus with his then girlfriend Carol to visit his Uncle, Einar Lilleberg, a great craftsman, musician and storyteller who lived in the San Bernadino Mountains. Einar would take Al and Carol rockhounding in the desert, treating them as responsible adults letting them wander and explore and learn, on their own. The Trinity River cabin and the many visits with Einar, left a strong impression on Al. He always credited Einer with the idea of desert trips with high school kids.

In the school district, all teachers were required to support extracurricular activities by hosting a club or other activity. The requirement sparked a decades long era of desert trips with high schoolers. After the first few trips, all heavily chaperoned by school administration, Al received a letter from the superintendent saying – keep doing what you're doing. The affirmation led to more desert trips, summers at the Trinity River and backpacking the Trinity Alps wilderness all with different kids in his club. Four or five times, he took a van loaded with half a dozen students to Big Bend, Texas for dirt-road-off-dirt-road camping to and from during the summer. This was in the 1961 white van, a vehicle legendary for the auto repairs needed – generator brush repair, cylinder brake repair, valve grinding and the infamous story about pouring water on the heater to keep it from overheating while the car was in motion fully loaded with kids in 100-degree (or more) heat! The kids survived reasonably well, Al said. The science exploration expanded beyond Al's class and included the Vintage Environmental Ecology Area. Here he worked with students on a variety of science projects to help further their understanding of real-world science application.

With a possible 50 different kids each year over multiple decades, the impact that Al has had on so many people is incalculable. Class with Mr. Lilleberg was simply unlike any other. Whether it was understanding science in a new way, helping a kid see their own potential, helping a kid lead a less troubled life, or just giving a kid space to roam and explore, there are at least a few generations of people who had the honor, pleasure and fun of knowing Al. Al and Carol chose not to have children of their own. However, throughout the span of his professional career and beyond, there are, as it turns out, quite a number of people who call themselves the Cabin Kids, identifying themselves by the year they graduated high school to connect the dots between which van was used, the people and most notably, Al's stories from adventures (or some may say mis-haps).

Al was very involved with the U.U. church in Napa, enjoying the many opportunities to connect with others. He also spent time volunteering with the Suscol Intertribal Council. Al never stopped learning. Even through retirement and in his later years, Al would continue his trips to the cabin visiting with past students and friends.

Please join us in Celebrating the Life of our beloved Teacher, Mentor and Friend; Allen Lilleberg, Saturday, August 26, 2023, 11:00 a.m. at Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists ,1625 Salvador Ave. in Napa. ITo share memories or have questions, please contact ahlille/@yahoo.com.