Frank Kroetch Family
Date & Place:
in Cupertino, California USA
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Frank Kroetch Family
Updated Jun 26, 2025
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Kathy Pinna
14 followers 2.74k+ favorites
04/04/2009
Comments
AncientFaces
382k+ followers 411 favorites
12/28/2016
What are holidays and celebrations without family? Happy Birthday to AncientFaces.com cofounder Kathy Pinna (shown here in back), with her mother, father and sister (also an AncientFaces cofounder) taken in 1958 San Jose, California.
via Facebook
Love mom's glasses. My mom had a pair of cat eye specs. They were black with rhinestone.
Jean White
168 favorites
12/28/2016
Wonderful family picture. Happy Birthdatš
Neill Augustine
9 favorites
12/28/2016
How fortunate you were to have your father there, too, it must have made the years seem complete.
via Facebook
Our Dad was a very smart and adventurous man - was in WW2 when he was a young teen.
Neill Augustine
9 favorites
12/30/2016
AncientFaces - That's cool to know about him! 10 years in civvies and he still looked like a warrior.
via Facebook
I think I smell a casserole in the oven and can hear Amos 'n Andy in the background. Meanwhile, as the photo proves, Kathy looks to be nuthin' but trouble.
via Facebook
Sorry, brother, but you have the wrong sister! :) I was the goody two shoes - Pam was the rebel!
Lori Russell
120 followers 11.9k+ favorites
09/08/2021
So they lady with blue dress thats your grandma?
Kathy Pinna
219 followers 32.9k+ favorites
09/09/2021
Daniel's grandmother, my mother.
Lori Russell
120 followers 11.9k+ favorites
01/10/2022
The lady in the blue dress. This one kills me. She looks like someone that I know.
Kathy Pinna
219 followers 32.9k+ favorites
01/11/2022
You're correct. , most Moms in the 1950s looked very much alike - especially if they wore glasses. A sweater or skirt, hair brown and done the same way, glasses. There's a reason that Ancestry uses this type of photo for their advertisements. However, that is my mom, my dad, my sis, and me. I know - I was there! :)
Daniel Pinna
204 followers 10.5k+ favorites
12/15/2022
Love this photo of the four of you...
Daniel Pinna
204 followers 10.5k+ favorites
11/08/2020
A ton Lori - that's my grandma! :) What else are you lookin for that's not on her bio? Marian Joyce (Benning) Kroetch
Kathy Pinna
219 followers 32.9k+ favorites
04/23/2022
I am the "one in the back" - the eldest child. My bio: Barb Brett
I think we are about the same age, Lori. I have no "Angela" in my name nor in my family, sorry.
I think we are about the same age, Lori. I have no "Angela" in my name nor in my family, sorry.
Kathy Pinna
219 followers 32.9k+ favorites
05/15/2023
Lori
Mom was not adopted. We have dna to prove it. She only lived on the west coast, all of her life. She was born in 1930 in Washington state.
Mom was not adopted. We have dna to prove it. She only lived on the west coast, all of her life. She was born in 1930 in Washington state.
Kathy Pinna
219 followers 32.9k+ favorites
05/15/2023
You could look at her biography page - all the data is there. š
People tagged in this photo
Frank Kroetch was one of four siblings and was born to Dorothy Elaine (Ferguson) Kroetch and Hollis "Joe" Joseph Kroetch. As far as I know (grandson), Frank and his brother & two sisters had a bit of a rough childhood, having been separated into different groups living with various family members.
He was one of the youngest to serve on the USS Killen for the U.S Navy in World War II. In fact, he lived his entire life thinking he was the youngest crew mate on the ship (he lied about his age to serve in WW2), but found out in the late 1990's at a Killen shipmates reunion in San Francisco that one lad had him beat by a handful of days. He married Marian "Joyce" Benning and had two children Kathy Pinna and Pamela Marks. He later married Carol (Antonsen) Kroetch and they raised John Kroetch.
He was a very smart man (with an IQ that tested between 165 and 185) and good looking - charismatic! He was a life-long entrepreneur starting numerous businesses in various industries after attending the University of Washington and graduating from San Jose State University. He lived in both California (where his daughters were born) and Washington (where he was born and died).
Frank was never baptized (as far as his child Kathy knows) and has no burial site. He was cremated and his ashes distributed between his wife and two daughters.
He was quite a human being and we all miss him every day.
Kathy has lived in San Jose California for the majority of her life, having spent a few years in various places in Washington State. She was married once to Leo Pinna and they had one child Daniel Joseph Pinna.
Kathy worked on and off at the Valley Medical Center, as did her sister Pam Marks and mother Marian Joyce Benning, but has spent the majority of her career as a spiritual counselor and adviser for over 40 years having assisted thousands of individuals in their quest for realization. Kathy is cofounder and Content & Community Manager of AncientFaces.
If I had to describe Pam I'd say she is funny, artistic, and loves all aspects of family history and genealogy. Wife to Neil Marks, mother to Layne Jacobs, she has lived most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area - particularly in Santa Cruz and Willow Glen. She has researched her family's genealogy (and many of her friends!) going back hundreds of years.
Loves to travel to locations that have to do with her roots.
Joyce Vandever (as she was known in her later years) was a loving mother of two daughters Kathleen Rae (Kroetch) Pinna & Pam (Kroetch) Marks who she had with Frank Kroetch, and grandma to two grandchildren Daniel J Pinna & Layne. Joyce had a half-sister, Lois (Benning) Ewen, the product of her father's first marriage. She also had a step-brother, Charles Henry Barrett Jr., from her mother's second marriage to Charles Henry 'Heinie' Barrett Sr.
She had many friends and relatives in California, Washington state, England and Wales. Her best childhood and lifelong closest friend was Beverly Clarice (Washington) Scoffone in Monte Sereno California. Joyce loved being a grandmother and spent countless weekends with her grandchildren. She lived in the California Hawaiian mobile home park at 3637 Snell Ave in San Jose for many years when it was an adult community.
To hear Joyce describe herself see Joyce Vandever In Her Own Words
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Kathy Pinna
I am researching Tasker, Jones, Bowen, Rees of Wales; Kroetch, Chartrand of Canada; and Boggs, Ferguson, Smith, of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Also Steeples of Kansas. And on my mother's New England roots - well, too numerous to name since she descends from Mayflower passengers as well as Dutch East India captains who arrived with their families before the Mayflower landed further north than was planned. :)
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Director). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come. I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in Campbell (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our current Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Director). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come. I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in Campbell (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our current Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director
Lori Russell
My mother is Pamela Thompson. My dad is Richard William Russell.
My mom grew up in Fenwick Michigan. My dad grew up in Hart Michigan. They had 2 kids together. Living in Michigan. I have other Half siblings out there somewhere
My mom grew up in Fenwick Michigan. My dad grew up in Hart Michigan. They had 2 kids together. Living in Michigan. I have other Half siblings out there somewhere
Kathy Pinna
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Support ). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come.
I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in San Jose (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our previous Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director
My family began AncientFaces because we believe that unique photos and stories that show who people are/were should be shared with the world.
My family began AncientFaces because we believe that unique photos and stories that show who people are/were should be shared with the world.
Daniel Pinna
I want to build a place where my son can meet his great-grandparents. My grandmother Marian Joyce (Benning) Kroetch always wanted to meet her great-grandchildren, but she died just a handful of years before my son's birth.
So while she didn't have the opportunity to meet him, at least he will be able to know her.
For more information about what we're building see About AncientFaces. For information on the folks who build and support the community see Daniel - Founder & Creator.
My father's side is full blood Sicilian and my mother's side is a combination of Welsh, Scottish, German and a few other European cultures. One of my more colorful (ahem black sheep) family members came over on the Mayflower. He was among the first to be hanged in the New World for a criminal offense he made while onboard the ship.
My father's side is full blood Sicilian and my mother's side is a combination of Welsh, Scottish, German and a few other European cultures. One of my more colorful (ahem black sheep) family members came over on the Mayflower. He was among the first to be hanged in the New World for a criminal offense he made while onboard the ship.
Peggy Gmuca
About me:I haven't shared any details about myself.
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