Kathleen (McClendon) Terpstra, 74, passed away on Thanksgiving morning surrounded by family and loved ones. She was a devoted wife, mother to three sons, and loving Oma to her grandchildren. She was the daughter of Wanda Jean Murray McClendon and Lawrence McClendon. She is survived by her sons Jeff, Jon, and Ken Terpstra and husband Leonard Terpstra, who she met while cruising downtown Modesto during the height of the Graffiti years. She knew the day she met him that he would be her husband. They were married for 56 years.
Kathy was a graduate of Oakdale High School, she took business classes at MJC, then she started her own child daycare, which she ran out of the same home for over 40 years. Mothering came naturally to her, and she touched the lives of countless children. She firmly believed that children need time and opportunity to just be kids, to learn how to be kind and share.
Moreover, Kathy loved Oakdale. A fourth generation of Oakdale, Kathy was married here and raised her boys here. She and Leonard traveled the world together; they saw the Mayan ruins, the castles of Europe, New England’s fall colors, and renewed their vows in Hawaii, but she never believed there could be any place better than her home in Oakdale. Everyone who knew her, knew her door was always open. She was easy to talk to, and her pearls of wisdom were straight from the school of hard knocks, but always given in love.
A private service was held for the family and Kathy rests at Lakewood Cemetery in Hughson. In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations to the American Heart Association.
The Oakdale (Calif.) Leader
The Riverbank (Calif.) News
Dec. 8, 2021