Elizabeth Jane LeCates
Sept. 29, 1933 — July 20, 2024
Elizabeth Jane LeCates, born Sept. 29, 1933, passed away peacefully at the age of 90 at home in Hollister, California, July 20, 2024 with loved ones by her side after a long and well-lived life. Jane warmed hearts everywhere she went with her beautiful smile.
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Perry LeCates, Sr. and Elizabeth Cook LeCates, she moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and graduated from LSU with a teaching degree with a concentration in science. Following graduation she went to the University of Colorado for a summer session and fell in love with the area. Soon thereafter she met her first husband William Walker, with whom she had three daughters, one brunette, one redhead, and one blonde, a fun fact the family playfully teased her with. She earned her master’s in education from the University of Denver in 1963 three weeks before giving birth to her middle daughter. Jane was an avid learner and continued her education throughout her life.
She loved teaching and taught mostly third grade for more than 20 years in Colorado before meeting her second husband, Vern Krinke, and moved to Hawaii with her two youngest daughters in the early 1980s. They lived there for four years before moving back to Colorado where she taught at the University of Northern Colorado.
After marrying Dave Halfin, her third husband, in Colorado, the couple moved to Camarillo, California, where she taught student teachers at California Lutheran. They later returned to Colorado, settling in Heather Gardens in Aurora. After Dave’s death in 2009, she lived a busy life volunteering for social justice programs at Grace United Methodist Church and for her favorite Democratic candidates. As she aged, her youngest daughter, Nancy, and stepdaughter, Robin Chasansky, helped with her care in Aurora.
Throughout her life she enjoyed hiking, gardening, playing cards, water aerobics, dancing and especially spending time with her family. She was a member of the Rocky Mountain Hiking Club with whom she took her children on many backpacking trips. She also taught the “Matter of Balance” class to her fellow seniors.
Jane was quite the social butterfly and especially loved the LeCates family reunions in addition to her extended family gatherings, whether they be the Halfin, Hirano, Mendoza or Airoldi families. Her house was filled with family photos, she always had fresh flowers, loved gardenias, sunflowers and enjoyed decorating for every holiday.
In March of 2021, she moved to Hollister, to live with her middle daughter, Kathryn, where she joined the Hollister United Methodist Church. While she lived with Kathryn and her husband, Robert, she enjoyed going wherever they went: wine tasting, barbecues, dining out, shopping, and road trips up and down the coast. She truly lived in the moment.
She is survived by her sister, Mabel LeCates Wickboldt; daughters, Elizabeth Goldsmith, Kathryn Walker Airoldi (Robert), and Nancy Jane Croy Hirano (Richard); grandchildren, Cayla Jane Croy, Mattison Walker Mendoza, Salvador Walker Mendoza, and Halea Marie Hirano; many nieces, nephews and cousins; and Robin Chasansky, Larry Halfin, and Lynn Christiansen, adult children from her marriage to Dave Halfin.
She was predeceased by her husband, Dave Halfin; brother Perry LeCates; and her grandson, Chance William Croy.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. at Hollister United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Hollister United Methodist Church at www.hollistermethodist.org or 521 Monterey St., Hollister, CA 95023.
