Georgiana Vivian Roppelt

The family moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon before coming to California in 1937 and settling in Beaumont in 1938. Vivian attended Beaumont schools until high school, when she attended the Academy of the Little Flower, a Catholic boarding school, at Mission San Luis Rey. After graduating, she earned a bachelors degree in education from CSU, San Diego. Later, she earned a master’s degree in educational counseling. Vivian taught kindergarten, married, and welcomed a daughter, Debra, into her life before returning to live in Beaumont in 1956.

Vivian was hired to teach at Wellwood Elementary school in Beaumont in 1960 and was blessed soon after with another daughter, Karen. Vivian loved all children and devoted her life to their education and enrichment, infusing art and music into nearly every lesson. For most of her teaching career, she taught first grade. Vivian retired in 1996 but went on to work as the librarian at Wellwood and Sundance Elementary Schools until 2009. She became a member of the local chapter of California Retired Teachers and was a member of the professional educators’ society, Delta Kappa Gamma for 55 years. In 2009, Vivian was honored by her community as the first recipient of the Cherry Festival Heritage Award.

Many people remember Vivian from her 44 years as the Director of Religious Education at San Gorgonio Catholic Church in Beaumont. She also played the organ and was a member of the Confraternity of Christian Mothers, Altar & Rosary Society, and Catholic Daughters of the Americas. She painted unparalleled theater sets and created countless costumes for plays. She helped design, and supervised the construction of, award-winning youth-group floats for the Cherry Festival parade.

One of Vivian’s greatest joys was quilting. She was a founding member of Pass Patchers Quilt Guild, and a member of Citrus Belt Quilters. She served as Historian for both guilds and participated in their community service projects. Vivian brought creativity and artistry to every quilt, even coordinating them to go with the books she read to children.

In addition to quilting, Vivian spent her later years helping her daughters. She volunteered her music and story-telling talents at Brookside Elementary School where Debra was the librarian. She shared her expertise in costume design and set decoration at Beaumont High School where Karen taught drama and directed plays. During Karen’s tenure, Vivian never missed a single performance!

Vivian is survived by her beloved children, Debra Roppelt and Karen Hauschild (Georg), sister-in-law, Nancy Worsley, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her siblings, Harold, Bill, and Carole. She will be missed and forever remembered for her lifetime of service to others.