Audrey Gavin Wiedrick, passed away peacefully July 30, 2023, in San Jose, CA under the care of Care Must Hospice. Visitation will be held on August 11, 2023 from 5pm to 7pm at Geise Funeral Home, Estelline, SD. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 10:30 am at the United Church of Christ In Estelline. Burial will follow the service at Hilcrest Cemetery.

Audrey was born on January 12, 1932 to Laura (Foster) and Mike Gavin in Brookings, South Dakota.  She was an only child.  She spent her childhood years living on the family farm north of Bruce, SD across the road from the original Foster farm started by her grandfather Frank and her grandmother Eliza Foster.  Audrey was surrounded by many aunts, uncles and cousins growing up from both the Gavin and Foster families.  Her father Mike used to build miniature buildings for Audrey to play with growing up that she fondly remembered. One set of buildings were replicas of the farm house and barn where she grew up, scaled one inch to the foot.

She attended a one room school house a couple of miles north of the farm through 8th grade.  She would tell of her father taking her to school on the horse. She then attended Brookings High School and graduated in 1950.  During high school, she lived with her cousin Fern, her husband Ralph MaComb and children Rosemary, Richard and Gary in Brookings, going home to the farm on the weekends.  Her favorite lunch during high school was a Nick's Hamburger.

Audrey attended South Dakota State University, majoring in Home Economics, graduating in 1954.  She then taught Home Economics in Browns Valley, MN, Tracy, MN and Howard, SD for the next 11 years. During this time, she met Orlon Wiedrick, an SDSU student who was renting a room from her mother Laura while he was attending college. Orlon and Audrey later married in 1965 in Brookings, SD, moving to San Jose, CA.  Audrey and Orlon raised two daughters, Erin and Kelli.   Audrey went back to college at San Jose State University earning a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology in 1982.  She then went back to teaching until her retirement at Willow Glen High School, Silver Creek High School and Santa Teresa High School.

A highlight in her and Orlon's life were their grandchildren.  First came Emma in 2001, then Laura in 2001, then Gavin in 2003 and finally Catherine in 2005. Grandma Audrey made their christening and blessing gowns by hand with intricate embroidery and lace from Belgium.

Audrey spent many hours researching her family history on both the Gavin and Foster sides of her family.  She was a wealth of knowledge of the who, when, where, why, what, and how of her ancestors. She was the youngest and the last surviving grandchild of Frank and Eliza Foster.  She had so many stories to tell. Thankfully, she wrote many of them down for future generations.

Audrey was well known for her sewing, knitting, gardening, cooking, photography, flower arranging and entertaining.  She used to host bag lunches in her backyard later in life. She and Orlon would host Easter Brunches and Christmas Eve get togethers for several years in their home for several years. Audrey enjoyed traveling back to South Dakota to visit the family farm as often as she could.  She took pride in the farm.  She had extensive work done on the house and barn, originally built by her uncle Cap and her father Mike, so they would survive for the family to use and enjoy for several years to come. She was fortunate to find Ralland Janssen to look after and care for her farm, later adding his wife Camille to help with the care.  We thank them both for their love and care of mom, the farm and to help continue mom's legacy.

Audrey is survived by her daughter Erin (Don) Dupree of Idaho Falls, ID, their daughters Laura and Catherine and daughter Kelli (Adam) Perrell of Incline Village, NV, and their daughter Emma and son Gavin. She is also survived by close family Ralland and Camille Janssen of Castlewood, SD and their children Raechel, Grayson, Coltynn, Jaelynn and Brylynn.

Audrey is preceded in death by her husband Orlon, and her parents Mike and Laura.

Memorials may be directed to the South Dakota State University Foundation.