Eleanor was the third of seven children born to Josephine (Furrer) Wear and Samuel McCune (Mac) Wear on August 9, 1921. Mac was a railroad caboose man who worked out of Truckee, California where Eleanor was born. Soon the family moved to Sacramento.
Eleanor had many childhood illnesses which were finally diagnosed as infections in a partially developed third kidney. In 1929, when she was eight years old, she had that kidney removed. Before surgery, she remembered her father standing at her hospital room door before work. Later, her mother told her he was afraid he would never see her again. Removing a kidney in 1929 was very dangerous surgery. She did well.
Eleanor was devoted to her father. Occasionally he would take one of the older children on his train route. She remembered one trip during which she announced, “I’m going to marry you when I grow up.” He laughed. He was a well-read man who loved music. He bought a piano for his older two children and a violin for Eleanor. One year after her kidney surgery, in 1930, Mac died of a heart attack. Eleanor sobbed so uncontrollably that she was not allowed to attend the funeral. Her father was a wonderful presence throughout her life.
Life changed dramatically for the family after Mac’s death. Eleanor’s mom, Josephine, had a fifth grade education and was now sole support of seven children. Aunts offered to take one or two children, but Josephine was adamant about keeping the family together. She went to work cleaning houses twelve hours a day and would come home so tired she just sat in a chair and fell asleep. Eleanor did some cooking which often consisted of oatmeal and milk. Josephine ordered a case of milk delivered to the house daily. Eleanor remembered those as happy times. She said, “We didn’t know we were poor.” They were an incredibly close family. The Catholic Church was so important to them. Her two older siblings joined religious orders: Sam was a Franciscan Priest and Evelyn became a Franciscan Nun.
Eleanor grew and did well in school. In Junior High she was awarded “Top Student” for her graduating class and had a silver cup to mark that honor. She continued to do well in high school academically and worked after school to make enough money to enroll in the nursing program at Sacramento City College. Eleanor loved nursing. After graduating she worked at Sacramento County Hospital, now University of California, Davis Hospital. Then, with World War II raging, she enlisted in the Navy.
Joining the Navy was a challenge for someone with kidney removal who didn’t know how to swim. She had to have a painful procedure to demonstrate she had two functioning kidneys, and she had to learn to swim. She did both.
Her time in the Navy was spent in the Pacific Front. She was stationed first in Hawaii, then Guam, and finally for most of the 3 year term on the island of Tinian. Here military hospital was staffed for the potential invasion of Japan. Time there was peaceful until the Battle of Okinawa. Her hospital was overwhelmed with casualties, and she remembered working a sixteen hour shift and only leaving after being ordered to get some rest.
War over, back in Sacramento, Eleanor’s next milestone was meeting fellow Sacramento native, Albert Ellis, on a blind date several months after Navy discharge. He proposed on the fourth date, they married several months later, and they spent the next sixty years together until his death in 2006. Their first eight years of marriage were childless. Eleanor went back to school on the GI Bill graduating from Sacramento State College and continuing to get a Master’s Degree and Teaching credential from that institution. Her major was History. About this time two children were born less than one year apart: Mary Ann in 1954 and Albert Jr. in 1955. Maybe it was the long wait for children, maybe it was just who Eleanor was; but she made those children feel so loved. She read to them: all kinds of books: Winnie the Pooh, Oliver Twist, Les Miserables; she took them on walks to feed the horses carrots; and she just let them play. A highlight was weekend trips to visit cousins who lived on a farm in Ceres, California.
Once, on a walk to the grocery store, Eleanor saw two small children sitting on the curb. She asked where their mother was, and they weren’t sure. They only knew she had asked them to wait for her. Well, Eleanor, her own daughter in tow and none too happy, waited half an hour with them before their mom appeared. Eleanor was always compassionate, not just in supporting causes but practically in supporting individuals. She wasn’t going to let those children be alone.
Eleanor’s children grew up. Both went to school for a long time, and when both married they chose to live close to her. Albert, an attorney, lives in Stockton, and Mary Ann a Pediatrician lives in Roseville. Eleanor’s next milestone was as a grandmother. This, for many years, was a full time job, and she loved every minute of it. Together with Albert they picked up kids from school, helped them with homework, and cooked them amazing meals. They too grew up and are having their own children. She adored being around her great-grandchildren.
Eleanor was a wonderful person and the world is a better place for having had her in it. She will be missed!
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