Birth date: Dec 23, 1919 Death date: Mar 18, 2015
Selma W. Kammerdiner: Musician, Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, Beloved Aunt…moved out of this life on March 18, 2015.She was 95 years young. Until her final illness of 3 months, she was still walking around the block dail Read Obituary
Thank you so much for your comment. You echo my own feelings. I truly cherish all our memories of the Y, Camp Marston, all the beach parties, camping trips and Friday nights when the Y was all about the Family program. Your family was a big part of mom's life, and she had many good memories of you.
Here's the obituary I wrote for her funeral: How do you condense 95 amazing years into a relatively short essay? How do you share all the events of a life? I think Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and the Byrds popularized it in song: To Every Life there is a Season: A time to be born, a time to die? A time to plant, a time to reap? A time to kill, a time to heal? A time to laugh, a time to weep? To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven. When I think of Selma, here are some of the words that come to mind: Lovely, sweet, engaging, musical, creative, inquisitive, courageous, hospitable, good cook, great friend, inspiring woman. Selma traveled in her life: From Wisconsin where she was born, to Waterloo, Iowa where she grew up, across country to the World's Fair in San Francisco, to San Diego where she lived most of her life, across country multiple times visiting family and seeing the National Parks, by train to Washington State with her grand-daughter, on a Mediterranean Cruise with a friend (at age 86!), to Catalina Island a number of times, most recently just last summer with visitors from Iowa. Music was a big part of her life: growing up with her father who, as a young man in Vienna, earned his living playing the zither. She earned honors in high school playing solos. In her 41 years with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and Opera, she performed with innumerable great musicians…from Rubenstein to Julio Iglesias; from Bob Hope to Mitch Miller. She loved the opera the best, and in her final two years as a professional, she played the entire opera season in spite of the arthritis, which had attacked her hips, knees, and shoulders. From time to time she played a solo at church. And in all of this performing, she never had a desire to be the soloist. She always chose to sit second chair, which meant she was hard to see from the audience, and had the responsibility to turn the pages as needed. Did you know she loved needlework? I suppose embroidery was her first craft: she used to buy something to work on when we traveled to visit family across country. She didn't sew when her children were young, although she taught Janet to sew on the treadle sewing machine that still sits in her dining room. She took a class in college, and after that she made beautiful clothes. She also discovered liquid embroidery, and made the blocks for a state bird quilt, created a hooked rug and pillows, a cross-stitch rug, and was working on a braided rug. These items are all around her, but she seldom told anyone she had made them. She also loved puzzles: crossword, jigsaw, anagrams. Also mystery movies and books?which are kind of a puzzle, too. Another little-known fact is that she was the third woman in the country to be a member of the Y M C A. She helped to pioneer the program that made available to girls all the same opportunities at the Y. She helped to build cabins at Camp Marston, hiked in the Cuyamacas, and even took a road trip to Oregon where we camped all along the way. And through the hard times, and the sorrows that make up a life, she faced them pretty fearlessly. Her final illness was difficult, but blessedly short. She will be missed. –Janet Bordeaux (daughter)
Selma and my mother, Joyce Calles, were close friends since the 1950s. We met the Kammerdiner family through mutual friends, Vivian and Jim Barkley. I was about the age of their son, Lee, and my sister was about the same age as Janet. Though many years have passed, I can recall vividly the happy times spent at each other's homes. Selma always had an air of serenity around her. She was a truly good person and I'm sorry she is no longer in our world.
Our family met Selma, Merton, Lee, and Janet through the Copley YMCA, in the mid 1950?s.Our family and theirs seem to be an immediate and easy bond. Janet was the same age as my sister Cheryl, and Lee was a year or two older than me. Our families soon spent a lot of time together, sharing time at each other?s home for meals, card games, and just relaxing fun. Both families took more of an involvement in the YMCA, helping with ?Family Nights?, activities, pancake breakfasts and Pot Luck Dinners. We soon became involved with the YMCA Camp Marston. Merton and my Dad donated a lot of time working at the camp near Julian on weekends, repairing and fixing up cabins, the mess hall and lodge. They built an archery range, and remolded the rifle range. It was a great mini retreat for all of us on the weekends. My Dad bought a small boat that needed a lot of work which Merton and my Dad did themselves. Soon we were at Mission Bay learning how to water ski, and cooking hot dogs and marshmallows. In the mid 1960?s, Lee went off to MIT, I graduated from Hoover High School, my parents started to not ?get along? and soon separated. Unfortunately we spent a lot less time with the Kammerdiner family. Times truly missed. When I got married, had children (3), and trying to shape a family foundation, I would always remember our times with the Kammerdiner family. I tried to instill those family values, times, and activities we had as children. I had not stayed in touch with them, or Janet or Lee, but they were always there in wonderful memories and thoughts. I will always remember what wonderful people Selma and Merton were and how they helped shape my life. They will be truly missed. Janet, thank you for the notice, your family has given me a lifetime of wonderful memories. David Hayward
Mom LOVED that Malibu! She thought a great deal of you, too.
I will miss Selma and our yearly letters at Christmastime when we would share life stories with each other. I started my young musical life in the viola section of the San Diego Symphony with Selma as mentor and inspiration. I remember Merton and Selma buying my red Chevy Malibu and driving me in it to the airport when I moved to NY. We kept in touch every year. A great, kind , classy woman who enriched my life.
I remember Selma first from my days as a music student at San Diego State University, where she was working in the Music Library; then later as a colleague, when I was working in the San Diego Symphony SD Opera n the early 80's. My memories are of a wonderful, hard working. loving, helpful and encouraging person. I am honored to have known and worked with Selma. Greg Lawrence – violinist
Soon after they were married, my parents moved across the street from the Kammerdiners. Merton and Selma took the initiative to walk over and introduce themselves, which started a friendship that continued for the rest of my parents? lives. My parents did not have many friends and so Merton and Selma remained very important to them. My mother was traumatized by her relocation from London, the tragedies of war, and the mental illnesses that would always plague her, and so their support and encouragement meant a lot. It is funny how after sixty-plus years I can still remember the Kammerdiner phone number: ATwater 4 2971 My memory of childhood is really poor, but some of my most clear memories are of being with this family, both when we visited San Diego and when they drove up to Descanso. Last time I saw Selma I was struck by how the area around 34th Street had changed, but that their little house and the pepper tree still held their own – a little out of place, but largely unchanged among the apartment and condos. Because I was raised to not believe in God, Merton and Selma?s church involvement was a total puzzle to me as a child. I had no sense of what church community or faith meant – my parents were terribly condescending about religion – so it all felt a little weird to me. Yet through all the years, the kindness and integrity of these two were impressed on my mind … I knew that somehow the quality of people they were came from their belief in Christ. So when, in mid-life, I developed a faith, they became a kind of compass for the values and humility I hoped to develop. After I returned to college I remember seeing her on the SDSU campus. I also remember her dedication to the musicians? union and just wages for all. When I reconnected with Selma after Merton?s death, I was not surprised by how sharp her mind was and how engaged in life she remained. I am deeply affected by her passing. The world has lost a lovely, gifted person of humility, strength and virtue.
I recall first meeting a sweet, caring, smart, yet unpretentious woman, who always had a sense of peace about her, named Selma Kammerdiner, in the early 1970s. We came to be friends, and I took care of her home for her and her husband, Merton (whom I discovered to be an equally fine person), when they went on vacation one summer. During that time I gained proficiency in reading the C-clef by playing her viola music at her piano! That was so long ago, and sadly I lost touch with Selma as the years went by. In life, one meets individuals who engage us for many reasons by their various personal qualities. The older I get, however, the more I value the quality of kindness–Selma was a woman who epitomized that quality. May the Lord grant her eternal rest.
I had the honor to sit in the viola section with Selma from 1969 to 1986. She was my first contact with the Symphony after winning the audition. My memory of her was of one of the most kind, caring and common sense people I have known. She was someone I hoped to emulate in terms of her steadfastness to values and willingness to contribute to the greater good of the musicians. She served on the Orchestra Committee and the Pension Board much to the benefit of all of us. We will miss her. Becky Campbell
