Roberta Joyce Eckel

Bobbie was child of a military family and moved from place to place, attending 12 different schools before graduating high school. During high school Bobbie was very active in Speech and Debate teams, earning a number of different awards.

After high school, she attended the University of California Santa Barbara. She earned her Bachelors degree in Speech and Education and became a licensed Speech and Language Pathologist. An avid learner she continued her education earning a Masters Degree in Teaching from The University of La Verne, as well as earning and holding nine separate clear/lifetime teaching credentials from the California State Department of Education.

She began her teaching career in 1959 and taught for 45 years, working for Claremont Unified School District and Los Angeles Unified School Districts before retiring in 2004. She was LAUSD Teacher of the Year in 1989-90.

When she wasn’t teaching, Bobbie could be found pursuing her hobbies of building houses, watching football, tole painting, latch hooking, riding bicycles and motorcycles, playing guitar, drinking wine and baking bread for her family. An avid reader, she always had a book nearby and loved writing and researching articles to publish in community newsletters.

Bobbie is survived by a son, Jon Hart of Fontana California and a daughter Sara DeLeeuw of Ontario, California. She also leaves behind 4 step-children: Richard Eckel, Sherrilyn Garrett, Terrea Keefe and Malcolm Eckel, 11 grandchildren: Matthew, Amy, Joshua, Evan, Brooke, Kelly, Dawn, Jacob, Justin, Chelsea, and Corey and 14 great-grandchildren: Ryan, Harley, Joey, Jacob, Hunter, Jackson, Tyler, Willow, Dylan, Zara, Paige, Olive, Spencer, and Rhys.

She is preceded in death by her parents Curtis and Edna Breeding, a brother, Donald Breeding and husbands George Hart and Baldwin Eckel.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.weaver-mortuary.com for the Eckel family.