BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – Mrs. Bakersfield has died.
Joan Dezember, widow of the man many called Mr. Bakersfield, Ray Dezember, died Oct. 13 at the age of 89.
The couple, who met at Whittier College in 1951, where he was the football team’s quarterback and she was the head cheerleader, moved to Bakersfield in 1954 and went into business with her father.
Over the years, the Dezembers shared their many successes with the community, helping build the Beale Memorial Library in downtown Bakersfield, and funding at least two facilities at Cal State University, Bakersfield.
We just don’t have the space to list all of their contributions. But they included the Literacy Council, Friendship House, Junior League, and Garden Pathways, to name a few.
Joan Dezember, who lost her husband Ray in 2016, is survived by their four children, Becky, Brent, Cheri and Katie; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Joan’s memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, …