Lelah Elizabeth Hunter

Lelah was born August 18th, 1927 to Dilver and Ruth Peelman. Losing her mother at a young age, her father did his best at raising Lelah along with her eight siblings. She is survived by her younger brother Warren Peelman, his wife Delores, her son Jeff Hunter and his wife Kim, her ex-son-in-law Robert along with four grandchildren: Cassandra, Casey, Ben and Heidi. Her daughter Stephanie sadly passed away in 2005 shortly before becoming engaged to Keith Gordon, who over the years had also become like a son to Lelah and Keith's daughter Kelsey, like a granddaughter.

Lelah grew up in Oklahoma and coming from such a large family, most of her childhood friends were her brothers and sisters. She always had fond memories of being raised out in the country and all her life, that is where she truly considered "Home" and that is why we called her "Country Mom". For many years she would make annual visits to spend time with family back home but, as the years grew on, her health prevented her from these cherished vacations so instead, she spent many hours visiting with them over the phone.

Like most children, she enjoyed playing and making up games. She wore hand me down clothes, ate homemade ice cream and shared a room with her siblings. Lelah always enjoyed reading and loved to draw. She was quite an artistic child.

After graduating high school, Lelah went on to art school for a short period of time. While away at school she lived with her oldest brother Floyd and his wife Bertha who were very good to her.

While attending college, Lelah met Philip Hunter and in April of 1949 they married.

Shortly after they wed, they moved around to various states in the Midwest following Phil's career and later ended up settling down in Phoenix Arizona. On November 4th, 1954 Lelah gave birth to a baby girl, Stephanie.

They moved from Arizona to southern California while Stephanie was still a very young child and on February 6th, 1962 Lelah gave birth to a son, Jeffrey.

Lelah began what was to be a 28 year career at Merl Norman Cosmetics when Jeff was a young teenager and Steph had already left home starting a life of her own. In the beginning, her primary occupation was factory work. She enjoyed her work and showing a strong work ethic; she worked diligently and did her best to succeed in her career. She spent a few years working in the company's kitchen, and ultimately earned a position in the front office after attending night school with her daughter in law, Kim to achieve a certificate in clerical office procedures. She enjoyed her position of scheduling tour groups for the company's Treasure House.

Lelah treasured her leisure time and along with enjoying a good book and listening to country music, her favorite pursuit was gardening. She could bring anything back to life and loved spending time in her yard.

She was content to enjoy her favorite pastimes alone and also loved having lunch with her friends and spending time with them. Always considered a good friend to those who knew her, Lelah enjoyed a broad group of acquaintances and several very close friends during her lifetime.

Several years after Lelah's husband Phil passed away in December of 1991, she retired from Merl Norman and relocated to Sylmar to live with John Contreras. They liked to travel and took a special trip to Hawaii and also enjoyed her trip to Europe with him. John became ill shortly after she moved in with him.

After John passed away, she moved to Valencia and continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances.

Simply stated, Lelah was a good and kind person, an individual who will for all time be remembered by her family and friends as being a caring and giving person, someone who was a vital part of their lives. She has gone through tough times and has enjoyed much happiness. Lelah leaves behind her legacy of lifelong friendships and many cherished memories.

She was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of her favorites was her cat Susie. Susie misses Lelah and needs a loving home! They were best friends for ten years.

Services were held at Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary. Lelah was laid to rest in Los Angeles National Cemetery alongside her husband Philip David Hunter.

May you rest in peace, "Country Mom and Grandma"