Obituary of Eva Ann Steele

Eva Ann Steele Obituary Eva Ann Coburn, 78, of Reseda, California, passed away on February 12th, 2015 in Moorpark, California of complications following a lung infection. She was the widow of Joseph Robert Steele Jr. Eva Ann “Ann” Coburn was born on December 4th, 1936 to the late John and Eva Coburn in North Carolina. Ann grew up in an eight-room house on a farm in Robersonville, North Carolina, two miles from the center of town, living with her parents and sister Betty. Her two oldest sisters, Jerry and Christine, had married and moved out by the time Ann was born. Her grandmother and grandfather also lived with her in Robersonville later in their lives. She lived in this house until her marriage at the age of twenty-two. She had fond memories of life on the farm. Ann’s ancestors moved from England to America in the 1700s. They settled in the eastern part of North Carolina and Virginia. They were farmers. On her father’s side, one of her ancestors, Thomas Nelson, signed the Declaration of Independence. She recalled that her dad’s father owned land in Virginia that was taken by the government by eminent domain to build the army base, Fort Pickett. While she was a senior in high school, visiting her sister in Norfolk, Virginia, Ann met her future husband, Joe Steele. Her sister was a friend of Joe’s sister and the two of them introduced them. They did not date until she was a sophomore in college. Ann attended East Carolina Teaching College in Greenville, North Carolina, where she would earn her Bachelor’s of Science degree. She was active in many organizations, including the Beta Club, F.H.A Club, Drama Club, Young Democrats Club, and most importantly to her, the various church organizations. After her college graduation in 1959, Ann and Joe were married. They honeymooned in Florida. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Los Angeles, California where Joe attended Northrop University, earning his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. She and Joe lived in Inglewood. She took a job as a substitute teacher. Ann’s first daughter, LuAnn was born in 1961 while they lived in Inglewood. Shortly after the birth of LuAnn, they moved from Inglewood to the San Fernando Valley, in the community of Reseda, where she would stay for the rest of her days. Joe worked for Rockwell, as an engineer specializing in hydraulics. The aerospace boom in the 60s and 70s was good for Ann and her family. Joe worked his entire career for Rockwell on the Apollo rocket project, the Space Shuttle project, and the B1 Bomber projects. Ann focused her attention on raising her children. Ann had two more children, Pamela and Victor. She and Joe raised their children as they were raised, making sure that their spiritual well being, education, and social activities were taken care of. Ann served as the Sunday school teacher at their church, teaching her three children and the other children about God and Christ. Ann and Joe would spend time each summer visiting family “back east” in Virginia and North Carolina. This usually involved packing up the kids in the station wagon and spending 5 days traveling from Los Angeles to Norfolk and Robersonville, visiting with both sides of the family for a week, and then another 5 days traveling back. It was during these many road trips that the family formed special bonds and many wonderful memories were made. While active at their church, Reseda Baptist -- now known as The Bridge -- Ann and Joe were members of a social organization, called the “42 Club”, where they met friends playing the game of 42 at each other’s houses. They would become life-long friends with this group. They also became good friends with the many families on the street they lived on for so long. When Ann’s children were older, she went back to school, earning her special education teaching credential at California State University, Los Angeles. She took a job with the Los Angeles Unified School district as a special education teacher. She worked near downtown Los Angeles, at Multnomah Elementary School, teaching students with learning disabilities. Ann and Joe celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a very special trip to Hawaii. Ann and Joe were married for 30 years. Joe passed away at the age of 54 of a brain tumor on November 13, 1989. Ann never remarried, but instead focused her attention on her children and grandchildren. In a school project for one of her grandchildren, she wrote that the highlights of her life were her marriage, the births of her children, and the births of her grandchildren. Because of the fond memories that she had of her anniversary trip to Hawaii with Joe, she later treated the whole family to a wonderful vacation on the Island of Maui. After Joe’s passing, she became very good friends with her neighbor, Sandy, whose husband had also passed away. They shared a memorable trip to Paris, would go out to eat together, check in on each other’s well being, and would regularly attend church at Reseda First Baptist together. For the last 7 years, her little dog, Winston, kept her company. She met new friends at the dog park in Reseda. She and her dog-park friends would attend birthday parties for their little critters. Even though Winston didn’t care much for the other dogs, Ann really looked forward to her times with the friends at the park. Ann’s children have always lived nearby. Sunday get-togethers were common at Ann’s house with the whole extended family gathering to celebrate birthdays, special occasions, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinners. She gave much joy to all during these gatherings, serving meals and sharing all she had and was the anchor for the family. Over the years, she also grew to become good friends with her in-laws: Mary Ann, Jim, Frank, Gloria, Bob, and Pat. Ann is survived by her three sisters: Christine Davenport, Geraldine Etheridge, and Betty Dickerson; her children: LuAnn Robertson, Pam Whitaker, and Victor Steele; her daughter-in-law Andrea Steele; her sons-in-law: Randy Robertson and Bruce Whitaker; her grandchildren: Michael, Stephen, and Andrew Robertson, Ryan and Hayley Whitaker, Nicholas, Natalie, and Alex Steele; her ten nieces and nephews; and her doggie, Winston.