Melba Jean Kvamme

Jean Kvamme passed into the hands of her Savior on September 16 after a battle with cancer. Her immediate family were all at her side. Before passing, she commented on the full life she had lived; in her last days, she met with her grandchildren and encouraged them to follow the Lord of her life, Jesus Christ.
Jean was born in Sacramento, CA. She moved to San Francisco at age twelve with her mother, where she lived until her marriage to E. Floyd Kvamme in June, 1959. She graduated from Mission High School in 1954.
Jean is survived by her loving husband, Floyd, and her three sons, Mark, Damon and Todd and their wives, Megan, Margaret and Grace. Her seven grandchildren will miss their Namma’s ever present care for them. She also leaves behind her brother, Dave, his wife Nancy of Glendora, CA and their daughter, Lisa of Rocklin, CA, as well as a host of friends in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties – among them friends from her church, GateWay Bible Church in Scotts Valley.
Jean focused on the raising of her boys as well as their many friends during their school years. Her house was “action central” for parties with an open refrigerator and a couple of hot mini-motorcycles.
As the boys entered college, she returned to the business world starting as the Office Manager for her son, Mark’s, first start-up company, International Solutions. She founded Service Partners Limited in 1987 serving the Meeting Planning industry; her employees were ladies from the neighborhood looking for a few hours of work. In 1995, she was invited by friends to ride horses in Carmel Valley — a life changing experience. After buying a ranch property in Felton and five beautiful Peruvian Paso horses, she was hooked. She planned the construction of a barn and arena. She rode her horses at every opportunity but saw the potential of using horses as therapists to special needs children and adults, which led to her founding Lichen Oaks Adaptive Riding Center (LOARC) in Felton, CA. She was Chairman and CEO until her passing. In her final days, she made arrangements to assure the continuation of the Center for years to come. The family has decided to rename the center The Jean Kvamme Center for Equine Therapy or a name to that effect.
Jean was an active traveler. With her husband, she has visited over seventy-five countries including virtually all the countries of Europe and most South American and Asian countries. In Saratoga, Tuesday tennis was on the schedule for over forty years.
A memorial to celebrate Jean’s life is being planned in October. Friends interested in attending are invited to email Dave Weaver at: dave.weaver@lichenoaks.com for details.