Sammie LaWanda Burdette

Sammie LaWanda Burdette, a former longtime Tracy resident, died March 24. She was 89.

Burdette, a native of Olustee, Okla., was born May 12, 1924. She lived in Tracy 80 years before moving to Sonora to be near family after her husband died in 2006.

Burdette worked more than 40 years as a secretary at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She started at the Lab in 1959 and retired in 2004.

While her son was in school, she was president of the parent-teacher organization and a Cub Scout den mother. She also was a member of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.

Burdette is survived by her son, Daniel Keith Burdette, and his wife, Karen Elna Burdette, of Sonora.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, William "Bill" Burdette, six sisters and six brothers.

Funeral services will be held Monday, March 31, at 11:30 a.m. at Hotchkiss Mortuary, 5 W. Highland Ave. in Tracy. Burial will follow at the Tracy Cemetery, 501 E. Schulte Road. Visitation will be observed from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 31, at the mortuary.

Contributions in Burdette's name may be sent to the Alzheimer's Aid Society of Northern California, 700 McHenry Ave., Modesto, Calif., 95350; or to Alzheimer's Association Northern California and Northern Nevada, 1060 La Avenida, Mountain View, Calif., 94043.