Bertha B. McLaine
Bertha passed peacefully into the hands of her good friend, the almighty, at her home, with her life partner at her side. Bertha B. Jones was born in May 1937, within a few hundred yards of the Red River, in the Butler Quarters neighborhood of Bossier Parish, La. She was the 3rd of 21 children of Allen Jones and Jimmie Della Jones (Smith), and was the oldest surviving member of the family at the time of her passing. She was preceded in death by both her parents, son Phillip, brothers Robert, Howard, and Matthew; sisters Bernice, Jesse Mae, Johnnie Mae and Marie, and 10 unnamed siblings that did not survive infancy (at that time, African Americans were not allowed into white hospitals in this part of Louisiana). She is survived by her partner John Capulli, daughter Ava, daughter-in-law Wanda, brothers Shadrack and Eddie, sister Catherine, 6 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren.
Her family followed the crops from Louisiana through Texas (El Paso) and Arizona, and to the Central Valley of California, eventually settling in Bakersfield. She was called “Dusty” back then due to her tendency to always get into the middle of things. She attended Lincoln Jr. High School and Bakersfield High School and may have been the greatest female athlete of all time. Bertha could out sprint every young boy in her Bakersfield neighborhood. They did not have female track at Lincoln School or Bakersfield High at this time; however, Bertha was allowed to run track on the Boy’s Track Team at Lincoln Jr High School. She never lost a race at 60 yards, against all-male competition. During the 50’s and 60’s, Bertha played baseball on all-black, female baseball teams in Bakersfield and Los Angeles.
Bertha’s first husband was Vernon Cobb and second was Johnny McLaine, and she loved them both dearly. In the 70’s Bertha purchased 2 homes in Los Angeles for her family and parents.
In the 60’s Bertha began work as an electrical technician at Wyle Labs in El Segundo, then Meridian in Palo Alto and later Hughes Aircraft, Radar Systems Group in El Segundo. She did hands on technician work in the assembly of F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-18 radar electronics. She also worked at various other Hughes locations such as the famous Green Hanger in Culver City where Howard Hughes worked in the 30’s through 60’s. She then transferred to Hughes Space and Communications Group where she worked as an advanced technician in the space power electronics lab, where she met her life partner John Capulli. In 1984, while at SCG, she was one of the few technicians to participate directly in building electronics to facilitate the historical Space Shuttle recovery of the 2 HS 376 Communication Satellites. After retiring from Hughes, she lived in California, Nevada and Arizona.
Bertha loved travelling and spent time in Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy and Brazil. She was blessed by a priest in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2005, and that same year visited Montserrat, Spain, the location of the first siting of the Black Madonna. She was a voracious reader who amassed a large library mainly in the subjects of science and history. Bertha and John were big jazz fans and regularly went to the jazz venues in Los Angeles and Phoenix. They also made it to jazz clubs in Paris, Las Vegas and New York. Bertha was raised in the church and her first musical love was gospel music and she attended church regularly. Bertha was a life-long Dodgers fan and helped her first husband’s family park cars in their yard down the street from the Coliseum for patrons going to see the Dodgers when they first came to LA.
We will deeply miss her energy, loving spirit and kindness. She gave to all that she met.
Bertha will be interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, Ca. Date and Time of her ceremony is to be determined. All are invited.
