Ava Mamie Champion

She was the daughter of Oklahoma Pioneers, Frank and Ona Hieronymus, residents of the Hammon and Elk City, OK, areas from the early 1900's.

She is a graduate of Hammon High School, class of 1935, and attended colleges in Stillwater and Weatherford, OK.

She was briefly married to Glen F. Hunt of Custer, OK, from 1939 to 1940.

Ava, her daughter, Marlanna, and the family moved from Hammon to Elk City, in the early 40's where she was secretary for Armor Creamery, First National Bank, and attorney Don Royse, after which she was self-employed as a public stenographer in the office of Roy Young and "Hap" Darnell.

She was a member of the Church of God, First and Walker, until moving to CA in 1957.

She met and married A. H. (Champ) Champion in 1960.

Her employment in a Beverly Hills entertainment accounting firm led to a lengthy career in apartment management when she met Eartha Kitt. She managed an apartment in Los Angeles owned by Eartha for 8 years. After that, she managed numerous apartments in Pasadena, Upland, and Torrance, CA, until the early 1990's.

She resided in Lomita, CA, near family until her final illness in late 2009. Her greatest joy until 2008 was helping raise her two great-grandchildren. She was an avid baseball fan, loved books, TV game shows, and crossword puzzles.

She passed away on April 1, 2010, at Harbor Care Center in Torrance, CA, at the age of 92.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Champ, and two brothers, Darrell and Frank Hieronymus.

Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Marlanna and Don Lidikay, Wilmington, CA; grandson and family, Mark and Brenda Lidikay, great-grandchildren, Thomas and Jennifer, Torrance, CA; granddaughter and her husband, Audra and James Munro, San Bernardino, CA; her sister Opal Dowdell, Denver, CO; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Services will be in Elk City, and burial will be at Fairlawn Cemetery in Elk City, OK.