Don and Beth (Kruger) Holden

Don and Beth (Kruger) Holden celebrated their 50th anniversary with family and longtime friends at a garden dinner party hosted by their children at the DaQuino home in Los Gatos. Don and Beth culminated the celebration with all of their children and grandchildren on a family vacation to Maui.

Both Don and Beth are third generation San Franciscans. They first met in Mission Dolores Park when they were four years old. Don recalls how he mischievously sprinkled Beth with water. He says, "I was especially struck by that cute little blonde girl when she forgave me. We enjoyed rolling down the park’s grassy slopes together. She left a lasting impression."

The couple’s families moved from the city. Beth grew up in Greenbrae, and Don in Palo Alto. They had a chance meeting at a high school dance and a moment’s conversation in the USF library when they were in college. Finally, Labor Day weekend in 1963, they met again playing volleyball together on the Pinecrest Lake beach. On the drive home, Beth thought to herself, "I think I just met the guy I’m going to marry."

In 1963, Beth worked at Bank of America in San Francisco, and Don served as a U.S. Army Intelligence officer, stationed at the SF Presidio. On June 13, 1964, Beth and Don were married at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church in Greenbrae. It wasn’t until later that Don associated Beth with the little girl in the park as well as with the girl he noticed while attending high school and college. In 1968, the couple and their children moved to Santa Rosa where Don taught at Piner High School until 2000. Earning a teaching credential, Beth substitute taught so she could be home after school for their three children. Don brought USF’s graduate campus to Santa Rosa, and served as its first administrator. He gave Kaiser Permanente the idea to move to Santa Rosa, and he conducted the initial organizational meeting. In 1988, Beth introduced Project Graduation to Sonoma County.

The couple now enjoys spending time with their children and grandchildren. They sail their boat, Très Bien, in San Francisco Bay, and belong to the Sausalito Yacht Club. They have sailed together in the Caribbean, and have vacationed in Europe and Maui. Beth enjoys swimming, aqua aerobics, her Bunko group, and book clubs. Don is active in the Empire Breakfast Club, and both a writing group and spirituality group.

Family members include: daughter, Peggy Fulton, and her husband, Dean, of Benicia; daughter, Jeannie DaQuino, and her husband, Larry, of Los Gatos; and son, Michael Holden, and his wife, Anna, of Brooklyn, NY. They have seven grandchildren: Jake, Andrew, and Kara Fulton; Katie, Claire, and Blake DaQuino; and Adelaide Holden.