Sporleder Beach died on April 6 in Los Gatos from natural causes. She was 85 years old.

Born on June 14, 1917, in Turlock, Calif., she moved to Los Gatos at age 2 with her grandparents, Louis and Olive Dobler. After attending University Avenue School, now the site of the Old Town Shopping Center, Sporleder Beach went on to Los Gatos High School. She graduated in 1935, which is the same year she married her high school sweetheart, Louis "Lou" Sporleder.

The Sporleder family was renowned in Los Gatos for its tie with the fire department. Lou's father, Louis Sr., joined the department in 1901 and was the assistant fire chief. Later, Lou became the assistant fire chief of the Los Gatos Fire Department, in addition to running the Shell service station on Los Gatos­Saratoga Road. He died in 1965 of respiratory illness.

After Lou died, Sporleder Beach moved to Santa Barbara in 1967. She married Kellogg Beach, and in 1970 the couple moved to Mexico, where they lived for 10 years.

"She had an interesting perspective on life," says Doug Sporleder, the eldest of Sporleder Beach's three sons and a retired Santa Clara County Fire Department chief. "She was an adventurer. Her attitude was always 'Let's give it a try.' "

Doug says his mother never knew her father, and her mother died when she was 3 years old. She was raised by her grandparents, came through the Depression and lost her first son, Kenny, who died as a child. When Lou died, Doug says he believes "she felt like she had to leave here because there was too much pulling at her." Her past made Sporleder Beach quite an independent person, her sons agree.

"She was determined," says Steve, the youngest son and a retired captain of the Saratoga Fire District.

"She was very independent and able to take care of herself. You want to take care of your mother, but she took care of herself," Doug says. "She ran the house. Even when she was sick and had three caregivers, she was running the whole house."

After living in Mexico for 10 years, Sporleder Beach and Kellogg moved to Santa Barbara, then to Tucson, Ariz., and back to Los Gatos in 1999.

While initially living in Los Gatos, Sporleder Beach was an active volunteer, helping with March of Dimes, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Flying Needle, O'Connor Hospital Auxiliary, Holiday Circle and the PTA throughout her sons' school years.

"She was active in all of our activities," Steve says, listing off Scout troops and different sports.

"If we signed up, she made sure we played," says Bert, the middle son and a past volunteer firefighter with the Los Gatos Fire Department.

Sporleder Beach was active herself, avidly playing tennis up until her late 70s. "She was in pretty good shape up until 1999," Bert says. "She was never sick, and I never remember her going to the doctor."

While the boys were growing up, Doug says, Sporleder Beach "gave a lot of her time" to her sons, as Lou ran the business and she ran the house. Other than tending to her family, Sporleder Beach loved to spend time with friends. "She was a very social person," Steve says.

"They had quite a large circle of friends," Doug says. "And they seemed to know numbers of people in all different stratas. She liked her friends and she liked to be around her pals—to go to lunch, to shop. She kept in close contact with her friends. Mom enjoyed reconnecting with the old-timers. It took her back to another time."

Barbara Baggerly, a good friend, knew her through her husband, John Baggerly, who was also a 1935 graduate of Los Gatos High School. The two were both part of Holiday Circle and Flying Needle.

Barbara says that after Sporleder Beach returned to Los Gatos, the two started going to lunch regularly. "She was a lot of fun. We had some good laughs," Barbara says. "She was good company and remembered all the old-timers."

Class reunions were very important to Sporleder Beach, although she lost more and more friends through the years, particularly when she returned to Los Gatos. "She was reaching the age when her golden years weren't so golden anymore," Steve says.

Sporleder Beach was one of the founders of the Holiday Circle, which began as a social group for holiday parties and then branched into a large group that held socials four times a year.

Marnya Campbell participated in Holiday Circle and remained friends with Sporleder Beach while she moved around, even visiting her once in Mexico, where she was surprised at her fluency in Spanish.

"She was always very pretty and lots of fun," Campbell says. "She had three wonderful sons, a husband busy running the town, and she kept up with them just fine."

The three sons agree that tending to family was of high importance to their mother.

"She was always there for us," Bert says.

Doug agrees. "She always carried out that role as a mom," he says, and adds with a laugh, "and also filled the role of a disciplinarian. You would never hear a 'Wait until your father gets home' from her."

"Values were important to her," he says. "The expectation was for you to do as well as you could in school, and if you didn't you would pay the price. She clearly focused on the three of us, especially when our dad died."

Focusing on her sons included ensuring good manners. "She wanted to make sure we knew our manners," Steve says. "She always hammered on us for that."

Although, Doug says, "She had a good sense of humor and encouraged us not to take ourselves too seriously."

As Bert sums up, " 'Laugh at yourself, and clean your plate.' "

She is survived by her son Doug and daughter-in-law Susan Sporleder, son Bert and daughter-in-law Patricia Sporleder, son Steve Sporleder, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Private services are pending.