Born: October 14, 1922, in Melvindale, Michigan.
Passed: December 9, 2018, in Costa Mesa, California.
Survived by: Nancy Martin, eldest daughter
David Bannon, son
Christine Lindenmuth, daughter
Mike Woods, grandson
DeAnna Martin, granddaughter
Eleanor Matilda Bannon (she was not fond of the name Matilda) was born to Charles and Genevieve Siegmund on October 14, 1922 in Melvindale, Michigan. She will be buried adjacent to her parents here at Harbor Lawn. She was an only child and always talked about how nice it would have been to have a brother or sister. Not wanting to repeat the same “mistake” as her parents, she had three children with her husband Harold Michael Bannon (Mike Bannon). (He was not fond of the name Harold.) Nancy is the eldest, followed by David and Christine.
Eleanor attended school in Melvindale and was active in her high school marching band. She took up the clarinet but changed to saxophone thinking it was easier to play while marching. She enjoyed the piano her entire life.
Eleanor went to work out of high school to raise money to go to college. One of her jobs was behind the ice cream counter at the local five-and-dime until she was caught “testing the merchandise.” Somehow she still managed to raise enough money to attend Bob Jones University, South Carolina, for one year. She studied to be a dietician, which she practiced religiously. She was the first person her family ever heard use the term “trans-fat.” Much to her children’s chagrin, she had a thing against French fries. Fortunately, homemade cookies were OK. Nobody made cookies like she did!
Despite her nutrition knowledge, there was always room for ice cream! You could always find a few different flavors of ice cream in her freezer, including Pralines and Cream, her favorite. Eleanor also loved her chocolates. When she received a box of chocolates, she often opened them right away and generously shared with everyone. The more everyone else eats, the more she could eat, and poof, the whole box would be gone!
After one year of college, she went to work in the Ford bomber plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan to join the war effort. She wasn’t Rosie the Riveter, but she distributed parts along the assembly line. A few years ago, while living with her daughter Chris in Colorado, she attended an air show where a B-24 bomber landed. Sure enough it was built in Ypsilanti. The flight crew brought her onboard and gave her the special tour.
She met her husband, Mike, while visiting relatives in Pasadena, California. Eventually, they were married and lived in Southern California where Mike was stationed in the Navy. Eleanor enjoyed telling the story where one day, he just didn’t come home. After some frantic calling, she managed to discover his ship had been dispatched to the South Pacific. You know what they say,…”Loose lips sink ships.”
After the war, they decided to move back to Michigan to be near Eleanor’s parents. It was either the cold or living near her parents, but, every winter they’d pack up the kids and travel trailer and head to Florida. Spring would come and they’d travel back to Michigan. This lasted several winters until Mike had enough. “California here we come!” The family settled in Costa Mesa in 1957. Only when convinced it really didn’t snow, Eleanor’s parents moved within babysitting distance. Eleanor’s father often said the weather in California was “propaganda!”
Besides being a fantastic homemaker, Eleanor had a career in banking. She worked for years and years, and she retired at age seventy-two. When she began her banking career, the Bannon family was one of the first families with two incomes. Actually, the income varied wildly as Mike tried one enterprise after another. Some were successful, some not. Depending on the family situation, they often moved to a new home. They moved every other year whether they needed to or not…all in Costa Mesa. Eleanor kept a list. It was quite remarkable. Envision her opening the list and the other end drops to the floor.
Eleanor loved to fish. She ice-fished with her father on Lake Michigan in one of those little huts you only see in black-and-white photographs. The family fished on the Colorado River during summer vacations. They would sit there in a boat for hours with Dad untangling the fishing line spools and Mom fishing. She often fished from the Newport pier and the dock at the Pavilion. She didn’t catch much, but boy could she fish! She did catch a four-pound trout at Big Bear Lake one year that was one of her crowning achievements. She was awarded a first place trophy! Just a couple of weeks ago, she was at the Balboa pier when someone caught eight fish on a single cast, all mackerel. Eleanor didn’t want to leave. She was content to stay right there on the pier to enjoy her love for fishing.
Eleanor was quite the gardener. She enjoyed caring for the plants around the entire perimeter of her home, paying special attention to her rose garden. Her plants and roses were always so beautiful.
She loved the outdoors and nature, which included watching the birds and the squirrels. She kept good supply of bird feed, and she religiously kept the feeders full so she could care for the birds. She could sit by the window for a long time as she enjoyed watching the birds.
She also loved going to the beach. Given the opportunity to take a walk along the boardwalk and the pier, she would light up with joy. She would always wear her hat and long sleeves, which is why her skin was so beautiful, and she always looked so much younger than her actual age.
She moved around a little bit in her later years, living in San Marcos, Escondido, Longmont, Colorado with her daughter Chris, only to return to Costa Mesa. She passed away at the Silverado Memory Care Facility in Costa Mesa. Her memory was beginning to fail, but she never lost her sweetness, her sense of humor or her love of fishing.
No matter where Eleanor lived, she always loved going to church, praying, and reading her Bible. She loved listening to Pastor Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel. When she stopped driving, she requested a radio so she could still listen to the church service on Sunday mornings from home. She knew Jesus and emulated His love, care and kindness. Eleanor put others first, just as the Bible says. She always prayed for her children and her grandchildren. She knew her Bible, and she knew that the good Lord would take her home to heaven in His time. Eleanor is now home with her Lord in heaven with a new body, a restored mind, and she is likely playing the piano and singing her favorite hymns as she looks into the face of Jesus, singing directly to Him as she worships with great joy.
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