Beryl "Billie" Eshom

Beryl “Billie” Checketts Eshom, passed peacefully in Sept. 1, 2020 in Sacramento, CA at the age of 87. Beryl was born at home to Charles L and Margaret J Checketts, in Preston, Idaho on Oct 20, 1932; she was the youngest of six children.

Beryl moved with her parents to California at the age of 10. She met the love of her life, Russell L Eshom, at Elmhurst Jr High, Oakland, CA in 1947 and they married after high school in 1951. Beryl attended Castlemont High School, graduating in 1950. She was an Honorary member of the Oakland Press Society and was in many school clubs. She wrote and directed the senior play for her graduating class in 1950. She lived most of her adult life in Castro Valley and Livermore, CA until she moved to be closer to her daughters in Davis and Sacramento, CA.
Beryl is preceded in death by her husband, Russell L. Eshom and her son Richard L Eshom as well as her parents and her 5 siblings (Beth, Mark, Cleo, Mary and Lola). She is survived by her daughters Judith Eshom, Laura Cook (Bryan), Marie Heitman (Rick’s widow), her grandchildren Rochelle Repka (Zachary), Cheslie Cook (Natalie), Tanner R Eshom, three great-grand children and many nieces and nephews.

In her adult life she had many jobs, starting with retail and clerical positions after high school. Her husband, Russ was a grocer and that opened the door to food demonstrator positions for many years on an on-call basis. The on-call jobs worked well with her other duties as a mother  as well as activities for school, clubs and church and community organizations with Russ. After Russ passed, she branched out to cooking demonstrations and had a part-time job in an office supply store.
Beryl was an avid animal lover and raised German Shepherd dogs for 40 years, producing many champions and earned many awards of esteem for the bloodline she and Russ established, Arelee German Shepherds.

Beryl enjoyed travel with Russ to Switzerland and Italy, the Bahamas, Mexico and Hawaii. The family also took road trips for vacations during the summer to visit family and national parks or other destinations of interest. She loved travel and had a few road trips with friends and family in her later years. Her favorite story to tell was when she talked a dog sled operator in Alaska into letting her be the musher! Her years of working with dogs paid off and she was able to mush the team of sled dogs for the thrill of her lifetime.
Family and friends will remember her as being kind, understanding, warm and loving with an infectious smile. She loved to cook and entertain, serve others and be involved in collaborative projects. Beryl loved life, her family, friends, her church and dogs. She would describe herself as a country girl.

The family wishes to extend a special thanks to Nelu’s Home Care, Sacramento and VITAS Hospice, Sacramento for their loving and compassionate care of Beryl.
The family will receive visitors Wednesday, September 16th from 4 - 7 PM at Smith Funeral Home, 116 D Street, Davis, CA. Services on Thursday, September 17 at 10:30 AM, services will be recorded and posted for viewing. Private burial to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Golden State German Shepherd Dog Rescue http://www.gsgsrescue.org or a memorial donation to a charity of your choice.