Edwin M. Funke | Obituaries | ridgecrestca.com The Ridgecrest Daily Independent Edwin M. Funke was born to Murray and Frieda Funke of Trona, California, on September 19th 1951. He entered his eternal life December 11th, … |
In the fall of 1953 I started 5th grade at Trona Elementary School. The room we had was in the original part of the school near the auditorium. The auditorium was shared by the elementary school and the high school. It was boundary that separated the high school campus from the elementary.
This was Mrs. Mont-Eton’s third year as a teacher but her first year of teaching in Trona. It was also her children’s, first year at Trona High School. They had already become used desert life during the two years their mother taught school in Twentynine Palms and from spending time during the summer in the Panamint Range and Valley while their father was prospecting.
I’m sure we weren’t the easiest class to deal with but for the most part I think were pretty good. One student with the initials of H. S. seemed to be the center of attention but after a while she managed to get that under control.
There were many new teachers that came to Trona, stayed in houses the district subsidized for the first year or two and then they moved on. Winifred Mont-Eton was one of the teachers that grew roots.
Winifred retired from teaching in 1975 after 25 years of teaching. She spent 22 years of those years teaching 5th grade in Trona. After retiring she remained near Trona in Ridgecrest and Inyokern until her death in 2010.
There is much more to her story but I don’t want to tell it all. Winifred dictated her story into a tape recorder and her daughter, Lorry Wagner, transcribed it and published it as a book.
To learn about Winifred becoming one of the first Ham radio operators click on the link below:
Benjamin Keith McCullar (1941-2021) was born to Thurman P. and Beatrice McCullar on December 4, 1941 in Oklahoma. He died July 2, 2021 at his home in Grass Valley, California.
Benny played varsity baseball and basketball in high school. The 1959 varsity basketball team won all of their leauge games to become the DIL champions. They played three CIF games before they were defeated by Santa Clara in the fourth game of the playoffs.
The McCullar family moved to Trona from Snyder, Oklahoma in 1955. Thurman worked for Stauffer Chemical in Westend. Thurman died in 1979 and was buried in the Searles Valley Cemetery. Beatrice died in 2008 in Bakersfield. Benny’s older sister, Beth, was a member of the class of 1957. She went to school in Trona for one year before getting married in 1956. Beth died in 2015 in Bakersfield.
Frances Jeanette Jones was born to Rupert and Edith Jones Nov 17, 1936 in Oregon and passed away Nov 23, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Her father, Rupert, died in 1974 and her mother, Edith, died in 2008. Frankie has a brother, Bruce who was a member of the class of 1958.
When in high school Frankie was a member of the Girls Athletic Association, Telescope staff and Komerce Klub.
We would like to express our sincere condolences to her family.
William “Bill” Wright Class of 1972 passed away November 13, 2021 with his wife Debra Seagle Wright by his side. Please join us on November 21, 2021 at 1pm at the Trona Elementary School Cafeteria for a celebration of life, with a burial following at the Searles Valley Cemetery. Reception following for family and friends at Trona Elementary School Cafeteria.
We just learned of the of Qwen Russell’s passing. She died in December of 2020.
Gwen was the daughter of Ruth Knolwes and step daughter of Howard Knowles.
Gwen went by her step father’s name, Knowles when she was growing up but her birth name was Holland. Gwen was the widow of Ira Russell who was in the class of 1951.
I believe Gwen was living in Ridgecrest at the time of her death. Her brother, Bruce Knowles, was in the class of 1964 and her brother, Kenneth Knowles, was in the class of 1967.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/227241748/gwendolyn-may-russell
Services will be held Sunday November 7th at 2pm at the Trona High School Gymnasium, 83600 Trona Road, Trona, California 93562.
The complete obituary can be found at:
Searles Valley Cemetery, Trona, California
Pete Teel (1940-2021) passed away Kern General Hospital in Bakersfield on October 10, 2021. He had a couple of episodes of Sepsis from a kidney infection. Pete was living in Trona at the time of his death. He was the father of six daughters, grandfather of seventeen grandchildren and great-grandfather of seven greatgrandchildren. His wife, Clora, and daughter, Celeste, are still living in Trona.
Pete was the son of Clayton and Lydia “Sue” Teel. Sue Teel drove the school bus from Argus to the school each day. The Teel family lived in Argus near the foot the mountains in a house that Clayton Sr. built. I used to visit Pete’s brother, Mike, quite a bit when I was in elementary school. The Teel family moved right after Pete graduated. Michael Teel passed away in April of 2021.
Pete Teel’s Interment Ceremony
My condolences to Pete and Mike’s families.
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Richard Gonzalez (1939-2021) died on about October 14, 2021. He was the son of Al and Maria Gonzalaz and brother of Al Jr. (1936-1991) (class of 1955), Gilbert (class of 1956), Albert (class of 1960), Michael (class of 1963), Charles (class of 1964), Mavi (class of 1966) and perhaps other siblings that I never knew.
I remember Richard from algebra class, my envy of his photography skills and his marriage to one of the cutest girls in the class of 1961. Richard was the yearbook photographer when he was in high school and continued to perform that function as a paid professional photographer after he graduated. Hid father Al, was a photographer for AP&CC. Both Richard’s parents passed away in 2009.
I would like to express my deepest sympathies to his family.
As I learn more I will update this post.
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