Louise Joan Neumann Locken

Also known as Joan Louise Neumann Locken

Daughter of Charles August Neumann and Cornelia Juanita Vest

Wife of Darrell Eugene Locken

Mother of Eugene, Darlene, Allen

Photos

Joan with 1st son

1. Joan with husband Darrell

2. Joan with husband & grandaughter 2002

3. Joan, in center, with her three children, some grandchildren & daughter-in-law. (30 Mar 2002)

4. Little girl Joan

Birthplace

Joan was born in the "Wilmar" section of Los Angeles County about eight miles east of the center of Los Angeles. Wilmar became part of South San Gabriel in the 1950's. Later, most of the area that had been called Wilmar was annexed by Rosemead, except a small portion annexed by the city of San Gabriel.

Interests

-Loved her family

She was survived by her husband, 2 sons, 1 daughter, 9 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren.

-Designed & sewed all of her daughter's roller skating competition outfits; supported her through years of lessons & competition

-Enjoyed having her parents, children, grandchildren, spouses, & great-grandchildren over for wonderful dinners and family conversation

-Great respect for her ancestors

-Famous for her mouth-watering Halloween burritos; scrumptious potato salad; refreshing lettuce tuna salad; cream of tuna with peas on toast; & white bread pieces in stewed tomatoes & onions.

-Famous for incredible homemade tacos (inspired by Cousin Cookie's wife, Betty Marie)

-Loved her cats!

Memorable Pranks

1. Joan once dressed in a gorilla suit, drove nearly 200 miles, and scared the daylights out of her oldest son on Halloween.

2. During a birthday party for Joan's maternal grandmother, Bertha Trixie, Joan brought out a beautiful sponge cake, her grandmother's favorite. The joke was that Joan had secretly frosted a large piece of real sponge cut out into the shape of a cake. Hilarious fun followed as grandmother tried & tried to cut the tough cake. Eventually, Joan revealed a delicious bakery-made sponge cake; grandmother was thrilled! Joan's oldest son, just a boy at the time, has never forgotten that day of family fun shared also by Aunt Helen, Joan's husband, & Joan's parents.

Grandchildren's Favorites

Wooden elephant collection (a gift to son Gene from Aunt Helen); pomegranites from Joan's tree, backyard avocados & Darrell's desert tortoises

Everyone's Favorites

La Tolteca food, chips & salsa!

See's Candies eggs at Easter

Residences

1. As a baby, Joan lived with her parents at 1021 Montecito Dr, San Gabriel, California. She was an only child, with a baby brother stillborn before Joan was born.

2. Joan & her parents moved to 2712 S. Muscatel, Wilmar, California where she grew up until about 10 years old. They raised chickens here.

(Note: The "Wilmar" section of unincorporated Los Angeles County was about eight miles east of the center of Los Angeles; 2712 S. Muscatel was later in South San Gabriel, & now Rosemead).

3. Joan next moved to 302 E. Norwood Place, San Gabriel, California where her parents lived for the rest of their lives.

4. During the early years of her marriage to Darrell, they lived in a very small guest house attached to the garage of her parents' Norwood Place residence.

5. Next Joan & Darrell lived at [563?] McKinley, Azusa until the 210 freeway was built rignt where their house once stood.

6. Finally, the family moved to 1350 N. Alameda, Azusa in the foothills at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Education & Employment

Joan sold Avon beauty products for years.

After the children were grown and out of the house, she earned a high school diploma, graduated from community college, and was certified as a licensed vocational nurse. After working for a short time at a nursing home, Joan worked as a nurse/playground aide at a Christian School for many years.

Health Problems

Joan dealt with diabetes for many years.

Then in 2003, she began a continuous battle with renal failure, which was brought on by dehydration during the prep for a Colonoscopy. Because of severe anemia caused by the kidney disease, her husband was trained to give her injections of epogen in her stomach every three weeks to keep her alive. Beginning in April 2008, there was serious talk by her doctor about beginning kidney dialysis.

In July 2008, Joan suffered a ruptured appendix and spent several critical weeks in the hospital receiving IV antibiotics.

Passing into the Next Life

Under the watchful care of her devoted husband, Joan died peacefully in her sleep at home at about 1 am on 15 Aug 2014, with her husband & son at her side, following a long illness.

Birth

California Birth Index

Name: Louise Joan Neumann

Birth: 29 Jun 1933 at Los Angeles Co.

Mother's Maiden Name: Vest