Adeline Goodwin Buckelew

Adeline was born August 12, 1914 in Yuma, Arizona to Leandro and Mary Dolores Goodwin and died peacefully on July 11, 2012. Adeline was a proud descendent of some of the early Arizona pioneers who settled in Yuma and Tucson. These early settlers came from Sonora, Mexico in 1849 and included the Contreras, Carrillo, Moreno and Redondo families. Later marrying into the family were her grandfathers, Dr. Henri Francis Goodwin a medical doctor and founding regent of the University of Arizona, and John Costello. They had fought on opposite sides during the Civil War.

Adeline spent her early years in Yuma and then moved to Huntington Park, California in 1923. In 1937 she moved back to Yuma where she met Everett Buckelew. They married on September 3, 1939, the day England and France declared war on Germany, the beginning of World War II. In 1941, they moved to La Mesa where they lived the rest of their lives. Everett predeceased Adeline in 1999.

Although primarily a homemaker, she was a volunteer for many years as a Grossmont Hospital “Pink Lady” and later worked for the U. S. Immigration Service as a bilingual court interpreter on the border. She was a member of St. Martin’s Catholic Church in La Mesa for 71 years.

Adeline (“Nana”) is survived by her three children, Carolyn (Larry) Smith, Bruce (Kate) Buckelew, and Paul (Lucy) Buckelew, numerous nephews and nieces, 12 grandchildren, and 23 great grandchildren. She loved family and will be sorely missed by family and friends. She was predeceased by her husband, Everett, her parents, her brothers Henry, Richard and Louis Goodwin, and her sister Noreen Danoux. An avid reader and excellent writer, she wrote her family history and ended the narrative by saying, “We all attended church faithfully every week and it was our faith and love and respect for each other that helped us through difficult times. We survived many phases of life: the Depression, the 1933 earthquake in Huntington Park, illnesses and deaths. Through it all there was a lot of love and that is the best thing in life that I could wish for all of you”. We love you, Mom. Vaya con Dios.

A memorial mass will be celebrated on August 18 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, 7710 El Cajon Blvd., La Mesa.