Obituaries

 

Leona Clair (Gray) Chaney

REDDING, CA -- Leona Clair (Gray) Chaney passed away on Dec. 27, 2014, in Redding, California, she was 95 years old. 

She is survived by her son and daughter in-law Mark and Sally Chaney of Redding, California; granddaughters Janna (Chaney) Meyers of New York, NY, Terra (Chaney) Williams of Milwaukie, OR; and her sisters Ruth Fandrich of Lodi, Marion Durheim of Portage, and June Parrott of Endeavor, Wisconsin.  She is preceded in death by her husband, Earl Chaney; her brother Albert and her sisters, Irene, Florence and Doris.

Leona was born on May 1, 1919 on her family's homestead near Bowman, North Dakota to Leon and Vera Gray.  She was raised in Endeavor, Wisconsin with her brother and her six sisters.  She is a 1937 graduate of Portage High School. 

After high school Leona worked for the US Government for over 42 years, living in Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Oxford, England before settling in Rialto, California. After retirement she moved to Yreka, California to be near her granddaughters, where she lived for 18 years.  She moved to Redding in 2012.

Leona enjoyed gardening and baking and always kept her family well supplied with cookies, cake and candy.  Many of her friends will remember her award winning apple crumb pie!  She continued to travel well into her 90's.  Leona loved her family and was always kind and considerate of others.  She was a longtime member of the Order of Eastern Star and is a Past Worthy Matron with both Gate City and Stella chapters, and was a generous donor to Masonic charities. She volunteered for many years at the Madrone Hospice Shop in Yreka, helping raise money for the important services that hospice provides

Leona was a woman of great faith all her life and actively participated in both Rialto and Yreka United Methodist churches.

A memorial service will be held at her family’s home church, Trinity Endeavor UCC, in Endeavor, Wisconsin on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.  Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. on Saturday at the church.  Private family burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery, Endeavor.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607 (www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org); or Madrone Hospice, 255 Collier Circle, Yreka, CA 96097 (www.madronehospice.org).

The Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage is assisting the family.

 

Obituaries
For information please call 608 742-2126 (Portage, WI) or 608 635-2763 (Poynette, WI)