Barbara Faust Pledger

Barbara Faust Pledger Passed peacefully, November 1, 2007, at home in Hillsborough, CA, her family at her bedside. She was 87. Born September 8, 1920, in Egypt, PA, as Barbara Soha Tzope, one of 13 children. Known to all as "Bobbie" she had a profound love for people, enjoyed traveling and sailing on passenger ships, often sharing stories of those travels with family and friends. As a young woman in her late teens and early 20s, she sailed as a waitress for the Grace Line Steamship Company out of New York, serving many South American ports. She married Wesley Faust in 1942, their first son Bill, born July 12, 1944. Both fronts of World War II had ended and in the late 1940s, she, as many of her sisters and their families, left Pennsylvania to move to the exciting, wonderful life and opportunities presented in San Francisco. Here, Robert Thomas, their second son, was born February 6, 1951. 1957 brought Bobbie back again to her love of sailing on passenger ships when the Matson Steamship Company announced it was placing two new ships into service, all "First Class" accommodations, traveling round trip from San Francisco to Australia via Hawaii, the Fiji Islands and New Zealand. Matson requested experienced waitresses to apply and Bobbie, after much encouragement from family, placed her application. Interviewed almost immediately, she was the first of the new waitresses to be "signed on." Requested by the captain, she was assigned to his table for the maiden voyage of the SS Mariposa, being nicknamed "The Tiger" by her fellow waitresses. One of the most memorable events of her life, this trip was shared with family and friends many, many times. This "last voyage" sufficed and Bobbie returned to work "on the beach" becoming a beautician. She owned various beauty salons, the last being Jim's Beauty Salon in the Marina District. She married Douglas Pledger, April 15, 1992, becoming a member of the Olympic Club, an avid golfer and used any excuse to take friends to lunch or dinner there. Bobbie loved life and truly lived it to the fullest. Always thoughtful and compassionate towards everyone, she was adored by all. Although deeply missed, she will never be forgotten. Beloved wife of Douglas Pledger, and devoted mother to William and Robert Faust, she is survived by them; her grandchildren, Cindy Faust-Scholz, Christina and Ashley Faust and Nicole Stevenson; sisters, Julia Soumarocoff, Helen Bennicas and Catherine Buechi; and niece, Genevieve Miller. Visitation at Crosby N. Gray & Co., 2 Park Ave., Burlingame, CA. Services at Church of All Russian Saints, 744 El Camino Real, Burlingame, CA, to be determined, (contact Crosby N. Gray, 650- 342-6617). Funeral anticipated Nov. 8, 2007, Church of All Russian Saints 10:00 AM. Interment to follow at the Serbian Cemetery, 1801 Hillside Blvd, Colma.