Individual Details
Helen M. Braunton
(3 Jul 1906 - 16 May 1997)
The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California, Wednesday, May 21, 1997: During 15 years at Kelseyville High School, teacher Helen Braunton Rickabaugh showed students the finer points of cooking and sewing in home economics class, and led them through the complexities of Spanish grammar and pronunciation. But her expertise -- and love -was horticulture, an avocation she learned at the knee of her father, Ernest Braunton, said Rickabaugh's son. ''She was probably the foremost native plant expert in Northern California,'' Kent Rickabaugh of Lakeport said of his late mother. ''Her father, my grandfather, was another Luther Burbank.'' Under the tutelage of her father, who designed Los Angeles' Griffith Park and other area gardens and estates, as well as wrote a horticulture textbook still in use, Helen Rickabaugh developed a love and knowledge of plants that stayed with her until her death May 16 at the age of 90.
She founded the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis club, was a member of the California Native Plant Society, and judged regional flower shows, in addition to teaching at Kelseyville High, and later, one year in Willits, said her son. Rickabaugh also taught school for a year each in Lee Vining and Nevada before moving to Lake County to marry her late husband, Kenneth Rickabaugh. She lived in the county for 66 years. In addition to her son, Rickabaugh is survived by another son Irl Rickabaugh of Ukiah; a sister, Ernestine Peterson of Los Angeles; a brother, Stan Braunton of Arizona; and two grandchildren. No services will be held at her request. Cremation and a private burial will be held at Kelseyville Cemetery. Donations in Rickabaugh's memory may be made to the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Auxiliary, of which she was a member, 5176 Hill Road East, Lakeport 95453, or to a favorite charity.
She founded the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis club, was a member of the California Native Plant Society, and judged regional flower shows, in addition to teaching at Kelseyville High, and later, one year in Willits, said her son. Rickabaugh also taught school for a year each in Lee Vining and Nevada before moving to Lake County to marry her late husband, Kenneth Rickabaugh. She lived in the county for 66 years. In addition to her son, Rickabaugh is survived by another son Irl Rickabaugh of Ukiah; a sister, Ernestine Peterson of Los Angeles; a brother, Stan Braunton of Arizona; and two grandchildren. No services will be held at her request. Cremation and a private burial will be held at Kelseyville Cemetery. Donations in Rickabaugh's memory may be made to the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Auxiliary, of which she was a member, 5176 Hill Road East, Lakeport 95453, or to a favorite charity.
Events
| Birth | 3 Jul 1906 | Los Angeles Co., California |  | ||
| Marriage | 23 Jun 1931 | Kenneth Rickabaugh to Helen Braunton, Lake Co., California - William Kenneth Rickabaugh | | ||
| Death | 16 May 1997 | Lake Co., California | | ||
| Burial | Cremated, Kelseyville Cemetery, Kelseyville, Lake Co., California | |
Families
| Spouse | William Kenneth Rickabaugh (1906 - 1977) |
| Child | Kent Rickabaugh (1941 - ) |
| Child | Irl Rickabaugh ( - ) |
| Father | Ernest Braunton (1867 - 1945) |
| Mother | Addie May Kirkpatrick (1876 - 1966) |
| Sibling | Bertram Allyn Braunton (1901 - 1965) |
| Sibling | Marion Cecile Braunton (1908 - 1994) |
| Sibling | Stanley Earle Braunton (1910 - 2000) |
| Sibling | Ernestine E. Braunton (1917 - 1997) |