Wanda Lee Price

December 7, 2016, Wanda Price aka “Mom” to her family and to many alumni and students, at California Baptist University, was quietly and tenderly called to heaven to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She was 87. She joined Gene, her husband of 50 years, daughter Lois, mother Irene, father Emerson, five sisters; Ursella, Helen, Margaret, Dorothy and Doris, two brothers; Leon and John and many other dear friends and relatives. She is survived, missed, and forever loved by her daughter Roberta, son Lowell, four grandchildren; Amy, Aaron, Karen, and Joe, her great-granddaughter Isabella and her younger sister Roberta.

Wanda was born in Evansville, Ind., in 1928, she was the seventh of nine children raised by amazing parents in an awesome family! Growing up, Wanda was a bit of a tomboy and loved to play softball and marbles. She was Indiana State Marble Champion two times. She worked at a Bible camp at Winona Lake, Ind., where she met her husband Lowell “Gene” Price. They were married in 1949. Wanda and Gene attended Clear Creek Bible College in Pineville, Ky. They moved to Riverside in 1957, where they raised their family. Wanda was a long-time member of Magnolia Church in Riverside, where she served faithfully in many areas, including nursery, WMU, Sunday school teacher, Round Table and wedding coordinator. However, her favorite ministry was organizing the Wednesday night suppers and banquets, which she did for many years.

Wanda loved the Lord and served Him by serving others. She began 47 years of dedicated service to CBU in 1965. She served in many areas over the years, - most recently as the Alumni Consultant. She loved the opportunity to reconnect with former students. Over the years, Wanda received numerous awards. To celebrate her 80th birthday an endowed scholarship fund was established in her name to provide support for eligible students. In 2010 she was honored as the longest-serving employee in CBU history. She seized every chance she could to connect with the students, be it in the Dinning Commons taking meal cards – many years she memorized every student’s name and meal card number and would greet them by name as they showed up for meals. She attended as many sporting events as possible – always wearing her lucky red shoes on Friday to support the teams. She loved to meet and pray with the different missions groups before they left on trips. Wanda’s Place, a café on campus, is named in her honor. She was loved and respected by faculty, staff and students. The students were her joy and she theirs. One student put it so well: “Wanda made it her job to make sure that every student on that campus knew that someone cared about them. She may not know all the gritty details of your life, but if you ever sat and spoke with her, she’d remember dang near every detail even decades later. Wanda Price passed this week and the world will be a little less bright for me knowing that she is no longer with us. She is one of those people that, even though you don’t get to speak with very often, she made the world a better place just by her being in it.”

A memorial to celebrate her life will be held at Magnolia Church in Riverside, Saturday, Jan., 28 at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, - the family suggests donations be made in her honor and designated to: Wanda Price Scholarship Fund, Attn: Donor Relations, California Baptist University, 8432 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, CA, 92504.

Acheson and Graham Garden of Prayer Mortuary is assisting the family.