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Light a Candle
Nellie Kamradt was born in Horton, Kansas on August 22, 1935 and passed away on November 20, 2023 in Thousand Oaks, California. Nellie is survived by her sister, Suzanne Miller, her children Denise, Mark, and Randal (Randy) Kamradt, grandchildren Randal Kamradt, Jr., Rachel Kamradt and Rebecca Beerstein, and great-grandchildren Prince and Pepper Kamradt.
Nellie spent her younger years on a family farm in Missouri with her father Virgil Argo and her mother Selma (Knudson) Argo and her four siblings Virgil, Jr. (Junior), Mary, Robert, and Suzanne (Susie). Her father passed away when she was 13 and the family moved to town in Maryville Missouri. After graduating from Northwest Missouri State College, she landed a teaching job and moved to southern California with her little sister Susie.
Robert Argo followed them to California to work in the aerospace industry and Nellie met and married Robert's roommate, Russell Kamradt in a chapel in Burbank, California. Nellie and Russell purchased a house in Woodland Hills, where they lived for 20 years and raised their three children Denise, Mark, and Randy. The family also fondly remembers vacations spent in Big Bear where Russell and Robert built a cabin together.
After Woodland Hills, Nellie and Russell lived for a few years in Santa Clarita and then moved to Fillmore to be close to Randy, his then wife Luz, and their children Randal, Jr. and Rachel. While in Fillmore, Nellie worked as an administrative assistant for a financial group and subsequently after her retirement in a part-time position at the Ventura County elections office. They were active participants in raising Randal, Jr. and Rachel, and later, their third grandchild, Rebecca Beerstein and their generous and loving help was much appreciated by the kids and their parents.
Russell passed away at home in Fillmore on May 29, 2010. Ultimately, Nellie moved in with her daughter Denise, son-in-law Fred Beerstein and their daughter Rebecca in Thousand Oaks and then, after a few years, she moved to a lovely, small home facility nearby where she entered hospice and passed away peacefully in the evening on November 20, 2023.
Nellie is remembered as a kind and loving mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, generous with her time and energy. Although she struggled with vascular dementia in her recent years, to the end her family was still able to catch glimpses of her happy personality and sense of humour. She remembered her early years on the farm and in Maryville and often spoke about her brothers and sisters, Robert, Mary, and Junior and enjoyed visiting with Susie. She will be missed.
