Genevieve was born March 21, 1919 in Oakland, CA to her parents Paul and Ellen Zepke. She grew up on Woodruff Ave in Oakland and was an only child. Gen’s father was a baker who supplied baked goods to the local schools daily. He was always paid in cash so as a result her family never had to suffer the hardships that many others suffered during the Great Depression. To supplement his income her father also distilled his own alcohol, even during prohibition, which he sold to the locals and many police officers.
Gen graduated from Oakland High School. After high school she studied secretarial skills at Merritt College in Oakland. With these skills in hand, she successfully acquired an office position with Margaret Burham’s Cottage Candies in Oakland where she worked for 6 years.
In high school a mutual friend introduced Genevieve to Gordon Kenyon and they dated from that moment on. Gordon enlisted in the Air Force during WWII. While he was off to war Gen continued working at Margaret Burham’s Candies. Gen and Gord married on February 3, 1945 at the Air Force Base in Knob Noster, MO where he was stationed. After their honeymoon, Gen returned to Oakland and moved in to live with her mother-in-law.
On March 8, 1946 while Gordon was stationed in China, Gen and Gord welcomed their baby daughter, Pamela, into the world. Not long after Gordon returned from China, the couple purchased their first and only home in Oakland, CA. Then on March 16, 1948 they were blessed with their baby boy, Alan.
When the Korean War broke out, Gord was called back into active duty and was stationed in Albuquerque, NM. This time his family relocated with him. The family returned back to their home in Oakland after that war ended.
After her kids grew up, Gen decided to go back to work and was an executive secretary/office manager for Craig Cutten and Assoc. and the other businesses that occupied that same building in Oakland. She worked there until her retirement at the age 78.
Gen owned and loved cats all her life, enjoyed eating an occasional Kasper’s hot dog, and trips to the Northern California coast. She also liked spiders because they killed the bugs that liked to destroy her plants. Many of her friends called her “Spider Lady”. Her husband was an active member and officer of the Castro Valley Masonic Lodge and the two of them attended and participated in lodge functions for many years.
After her husband’s death in October 2014, Genevieve and her cat moved into the Carlton Plaza in San Leandro, CA where she made many friends and played bingo daily. On October 19, 2016 surrounded by her children Gen quietly left this earth to be with her husband.
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