Los Angeles County, California Obituary and Death Notice Collection
(Obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Downey and surrounding towns.)
Many of these obituaries do not have the year of death included. Use the Social Security Death Index to determine this information.
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Downey, Los Angeles County, California Obituary Collection
GenealogyBuff.com - Downey, Los Angeles Co., California Obituary Collection - 30
Posted By: GenealogyBuff.com Date: Tuesday, 6 August 2024, at 4:40 p.m.
Frederick George Lewis
DOWNEY - Graveside services will be held today (Friday, Feb. 21) at noon at Larkin Sunset Lawn in Salt Lake City, Utah, for Frederick George Lewis, a resident of Downey since 1948 and a painter.
He was age 89, born Aug. 16, 1907 in Bountiful, Utah, and died in Corona, California, Feb. 16.
He was a former employee of Mobil Oil Company, and was a member of the Downey 3rd Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Survivors include his son, James F. Lewis of Perris; a brother, Reggie Lewis of Utah; four grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Arrangements are by the Allen-English & Estrada Funeral Service of Bell Gardens.
Jean Dorothy Czapla
DOWNEY - Funeral services were held Friday, Feb., 14 for Jean Dorothy Czapla, a longtime Downey resident and former secretary for the City of Pico Rivera, who died Feb. 22 at her home. She was 76, born in West Virginia.
Survivors include her nephew, Larry Czapla; and a niece, Mary Ann Czapla.
Deacon Raul Viramontes officiated. Arrangements were by the Miller-Mies Mortuary of Downey.
Juergen "George" H. Otto, M.D.
DOWNEY - A memorial celebration of the life of Juergen "George" H. Otto, M.D. a longtime resident of Downey and a former Board Certified Family Physician here, was held Feb. 14, at Monarch Summit II Clubhouse in Laguna Niguel.
He was 77, born July 11, 1920 in Berlin, Germany, and died Feb. 6.
He earned his baccalaureate and medical degree in Germany, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1948 after an interruption in his education forced by World War II. During the war he served in the medical corps under General Rommel, earning the Iron Cross for bravery, while recovering much needed medical supplies from behind enemy lines.
He was captured by the English and sent to the United States as a POW.
He returned to Germany in 1946 and married Irmgard Oberst, immigrating to the U.S. with her in 1950.
He was a Board Certified Family Physician in Downey, and was on the staff of Downey Community Hospital and St. Francis Hospital. He was appointed a Clinical Associate Professor at UC-Irvine, and taught at the Long Beach Memorial Family Practice Residency. He served as Chairman of the Health Committee for the South East District of Los Angeles County, organizing the Sabin Polio Vaccination program. He served as a delegate of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and was Commissioner for the Board of Medical Quality Assurance.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Irmgard Otto of Laguna Niguel; his sisters, Gisela Best and Almuth Hoehnscheid; his children, Rainer Otto of Lomita, Patti Francis, M.D., of Moraga, Frank Otto, M.D., of Spokane, Washington; and his grandchildren, Corrie and Erica Francis, and Amy, Elsbeth and Elise Otto.
The family suggests memorial gifts to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 6046, Irvine, CA 92612.
Lois Ruth Michaels
SALINAS - Lois Ruth Michaels, a former longtime school supervisor for the Los Angeles School District and a former longtime resident of Downey, died Feb. 12 in Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital.
She was 85, born Nov. 12, 1912 in Pueblo, Colorado, and had lived in Salinas since 1996. She was formerly of Downey, taught in public and private schools, and owned a co-ed summer camp from 1949 to 1959, called Bass Lake Sierra Camp in the Sierra Mountains.
She was active as a Downey Newcomer and was president pro tem from 1986-87. She joined the Woman's Club, the Republican Women's Club, and was a past president of the Emblem Club in 1988-89. She was also active in Meals on Wheels, the Junior Blind, the PTA-HELPS program, Villa Elena Convalescent Hospital, Home Xmas Party, Brentwood Veterans Administration Christmas Parties, Downey Local Scholarship Funds, Supreme Disaster Funds, Campfire Girls and Boys, the Downey Elks Handicapped Kids, was active in helping send handicapped children to camp, Red Cross Assistance, was a 50-year member of the Downey Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, and contributed more than 50 years of community service.
She was a graduate of UCLA with a B.A. in Education.
Survivors include her son, Robert B. Butterfield of Pacific Grove; a niece, Lois Calman of San Diego; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
She was preceded in death by her late husband, George Michaels in 1995.
Memorial services are pending at the Little Chapel by the Sea. Arrangements are by the Paul Mortuary of Pacific Grove. The family suggests memorials in her memory to the donor's favorite charity.
Viginia Mary Marko
DOWNEY - A Funeral Mass was heard Wednesday, Feb. 18, at St. Raymond's Catholic Church for Virginia Mary Marko, a resident of Downey since 1952.
She was 72, born in Los Angeles Oct. 16, 1925, and died in her Downey home Feb. 13.
She was a member of the St. Theresa Mission Circle of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.
She was preceded in death by her son, Frank V. Marko in 1992 at age 32.
Survivors include her husband, Frank J. Marko of Downey; her daughters, Madeleine McElroy of San Dimas, Janet Winckler of Fullerton, Donna Popkin of Long Beach; her son, Philip Marko of Bakersfield; 13 grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.
Father Steve Davoren officiated. Entombment followed in Calvary Cemetery. Donations are suggested in her memory to "Maryvale," 7600 E. Graves Ave., Rosemead, CA 91770, Attn. Development Dept.
Arrangements were by the Downey Zrelak Family Mortuary.
Joseph Arve
DOWNEY - Memorial graveside services were held Feb. 12 at the Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles for Joseph Arve, a longtime Downey resident, who died suddenly at his home from a stroke and heart failure Feb. 4.
He was 58, loved fishing, car racing, and was a fan of Downey High football, which he found even more exciting when his son, Mark, became a player on the varsity.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Valarie; his son and daughter-in-law, Joey and Shirley; his son, Mark; and two grandchildren, Ryan and Ross.
He will be missed by family and friends.
Dick J. De Atley, 74
DOWNEY - A Mass of Christian Burial will be heard at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at St. Raymond's Catholic Church for Dick J. De Atley, a former longtime Downey resident who died Feb. 14 at Hospice of the Valley in Scottsdale, Arizona.
He was 74, and moved to Downey from Huntington Park in 1952, remaining here until moving to Scottsdale in 1978. He was a founding parishioner of St. Raymond's, was a member of the church's Men's Club, and served Sunday masses at Los Padrinos juvenile facility here. While in Downey he worked as a salesman and manager for Standard Brands Foods. He moved to Scottsdale to become president of Bateman Food Brokerage in Phoenix.
Survivors include his wife, Betty of Scottsdale; a daughter, Jean Corty (Andy) of Brea; a son, Richard (Kathy) of Riverside; four grandchildren; and a sister, Doris Lee Beard of Twentynine Palms.
The Rev. Thomas O'Hanlon will officiate. Cremation was by the Messinger Mortuary and Chapel of Scottsdale. Inurnment will follow the mass at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Mary Romero Ybarra
GILROY - Funeral services are today, Friday, Feb. 19, at 9:30 a.m. at the Habing Family Funeral Home in Gilroy, thence to St. Mary's Church in Gilroy, for a Funeral Mass for Mary Romero Ybarra, a homemaker who died in Morgan Hill, Feb. 14.
She was the wife of the late Ladislado Ybarra, and was 85, born in Jalisco, Mexico. She was a member of St. Mary's Church and loved to cook and do needlework.
Survivors include her son and his wife, Richard and Inez Romero of El Sobrante; a son and his wife, Manuel and Nancy Romero of Gilroy; a daughter and her husband, Helen and Frank Morales of Downey; a daughter, Esther G. Lopez of Gilroy; son, Tony Gonzales of Gilroy; grandsons, Richard and Robert Romero of Pinole; granddaughter, Rhonda Romero of Stockton; grandson, Russell Romero of El Sobrante; granddaughter, Rebecca Romero of Concord; granddaughter, Suzanne Romero of Gilroy; grandsons, Manuel and Bryan Romero of Gilroy; granddaughters, Teresa Morales and Toni Esparza of Downey; grandson, Frank Morales, Jr. of Downey; granddaughter, Anna Maria Morales of Downey; grandson, Joey Lopez of Minden, Nevada; grandson, Henry Lopez of Los Angeles; granddaughter, Mary Ann Williamson of Santa Cruz; granddaughter, Cindy Ellsbury of Gilroy; grandson, Marcos Ybarra of San Diego; 35 great-grandchildren; three sisters; and many nieces and nephews.
Burial will follow at St. Mary's Cemetery. Arrangements are by the Habing Family Funeral Home of Gilroy.
