LaVona (Gebb) Drankhan died peacefully at her home surrounded by family March 18, 2011. A lifetime resident of Long Beach, LaVona was born October 15, 1918 in San Francisco to parents LaVona Adamson Gebb and J. Wesley Gebb, who was only able to see his daughter for the first time from outside the hospital window because of the health scare of the Spanish Flu pandemic. The family soon moved to Southern California and settled in Long Beach, surviving the 1933 earthquake when LaVona attended Woodrow Wilson High School. She graduated from UCLA in January 1940 with her bachelor's degree in mathematics. Her father had advised her it would be a good profession for a woman in a male-dominated world and Lavona said later in life that numbers had always fascinated her because like space, they go on forever. Her interest in math proved favorable and she enjoyed a career as one of the first females in her field. In the 1940's, LaVona worked for Douglas Aircraft Company and then was hired by North American Rockwell, where she worked for 25 years including several as a weight engineer on the NASA Apollo spacecraft project. LaVona's friends and family will always remember her intellect which was further enhanced by her independence, kindness and generosity. She was friendly to all, thoughtful and a strong supporter of women's rights and minorities. She was a proud member of PEO International, a philanthropic organization for the advancement of women. Upon her retirement from Rockwell in 1974, LaVona was elected a lifetime member of the National Management Association, Rockwell Chapter. A widow, LaVona delighted in the company of her 10 nieces and nephews and surviving siblings, Juanita Acha of Arlington, Virginia and Sheldon Gebb, of Long Beach. She was preceded in death by her brother J. Wesley Gebb, Jr. She enjoyed crafting linens, household cloths and other items which she sold at her own gift shop in Belmont Shore and later at church bazaars at the All Saints Church gift shop. She also loved to garden, delighting in growing roses, orchids and potted plants. Reading and traveling were always passions. She also contributed annually to a number of charities, with several American Indian organizations among her favorites. LaVona will be buried next to her father at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale. There will be a celebration of life at the Wee Kirk O' the Heather Chapel at the Glendale facility April 18, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. For those who wish to honor her memory, the family suggests donations to the St. John's Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota, the National Cat Protection Society, Long Beach Chapter and the Long Beach Animal Care Services all of which she supported.

(Long Beach Press-Telegram on Apr. 12, 2011.)