Eileen Elizabeth Carl

Eileen Elizabeth Carl passed away on the 4th day of July 2008 in Sun City, CA. Born in Highmore, SD, Eileen was 98 when she died. She was an active member and secretary of St. James Catholic Church while we lived in Torrance.

Growing up, her parents moved many times around the West. Eileen was the substitute mom—the troop leader for her 9 brothers and sisters, whether they liked it or not. She worked hard and took on lots of responsibility. She also had fun. We heard stories of riding around with her brother Harry in his model T Ford, groupies for Lawrence Welk. Dressed as a Flapper, she loved to dance.

Eileen was a legal secretary for several years in Chicago, IL. When Marlon Brando Sr. moved his law practice [and his surly son] to Los Angeles, he brought Mom with him. Willard came too of course, became a Good Humor man, and joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor. She helped her siblings and parents in their gradual move to California.

When she had Ron and Cathy, after World War II, she became a homemaker. Having struggled through the Great Depression, she scrimped and saved for the family's future. She also continued working to hold the family together. She enjoyed her gardens. She sewed for family and neighbors and crocheted. She collected and shared the family stories and enjoyed the visits and the get togethers that happened almost weekly.

Eileen is survived by Ron Carl, her son, who lives with his children in Tualatin, Oregon, and her daughter Catherine Stevens, who lives in Sun City, California. Her brother Richard J. Van Camp lives in Fernley, Nevada. Her sister Kathryn Dill lives in Porterville, CA, and her sister Edith Joanis lives in Canoga Park, CA. Her 6 other siblings, Harry Van Camp, John Van Camp, Jo Martin, Dorothy Bitney, Charlotte Merkel, and Maxine Watters are also deceased. Eileen also has six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 56years, Willard Louis Carl, and by her great-grandchild, Eric Robert Busha.

Interment will follow at Los Angeles National Cemetery in West Los Angeles, CA .