Ardyne Gillbreath

Ardyne LaRue Berger was born in Kansas City, Kansas to Edward and Virgie Berger on May 24, 1925.  She moved to Long Beach, California when she was a toddler.  Her Aunt and Uncle, her Dad’s younger brother “Tuffy” had previously moved here.  She went thru all the Long Beach public schools including Poly High School where she met her future husband Ralph Gillbreath.  She originally dated Ralph’s brother Mac but ended up marrying Ralph September 6, 1942 during World War 11 while he was a soldier. The two loved to dance and would continue to dance for many many years.   The form of service Ralph was in was Army Air Corp which later became the Airforce.  He was stationed in Kingman, Arizona and Merced, California.  Ardyne joined Ralph in Merced living above a grocery store.  Their first child was Robbie Edward Gillbreath born December 20, 1943.  They moved back to Long Beach when the war was over.  Ralph searched for a job and decided to open his own janitorial business,  B & G Maintenance Service.  The B was for Edd Berger, Ardyne’s father and the G was for Gillbreath.  He remained in that business for 50 plus years.  Their second child, Julie Deane, was born April 16, 1948.  The couple bought their first and only home on Ocana in 1950 for $13,000.  It was “way out of town” from Long Beach.

Ardyne was a social butterfly and loved being a homemaker wearing her little house dresses her mother made her.  She got involved with a sorority  Beta Sigma Phi, was President,  and developed a large circle of friends.  Ralph was a member of the Signal Hill Lions Club and they were both President of their respective clubs the same year.  She was involved with the kids school, little league, and dance classes amongst other things.  She also began her passion for athletics in bowling and golf which she did for many years. She also got involved with the neighborhood playing bridge with neighbors Bev Lund and Corkey Jenkins.  These turned out to be lifelong friends and bridge was a lifelong hobby.

She welcomed son-in-law Don Knabe in 1968 and daughter-in-law Leslie Packwood in 1988.  She adored her grandsons Curtis born in 1971 and Matthew in 74.  She loved babysitting them and shared her love of playing cards and started them in golf lessons at a very young age.

Later in life she developed a love of cooking and hosting family events.  Ralph finally sold his business and retired in the 1980s.   She and Ralph began traveling especially to foreign countries.  They also enjoyed golf adventures and playing bridge with close friends.

She was extremely competitive in everything she did.  She loved family and took great pride in them.  She was delighted to welcome great grandkids Kaitlyn and Christy and later Kaden and Kyla.

Ralph passed away of cancer in 2002.  Her health began to fail in 2015.  After several years of devoted care from her friend Doris, it was determined that she move to an Assisted Living facility, The Grove, in 2021.  Because of her frequent falls, she needed to move to the St. Frances Board and Care facility in March 2024.  They gave her great personal attention.  She was on hospice from Evergreen given care by Alex since 2023.  She had no pain through her latter years but had a steady decline and simply slipped away the evening of May 3, 2025.   She was looking forward to her 100th birthday but failed by exactly three weeks.

She lead a long, full, busy, happy, loved life.  What else could anyone ask for?