Elaine Campbell, 103, of West Hills CA, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, with loved ones by her side. She lived her long life with humor, grace, and love. She was an accomplished poet, world traveler, voracious reader, and crossword puzzle enthusiast. She wrote extensively about her life, leaving her family with a treasured legacy.

“I arrived on a cold and blustery day, January 6, 1922, in the front bedroom of a little house in Windom Minnesota. My father, John B. McCullough was 42 years old and my mother, Lillian Mae Schottle McCullough, was just short of her 40th birthday. I had two sisters to welcome me, Evelyn and Ardyth.”

Farm life during the Depression was challenging but was also full of memorable experiences. “I really loved summer. It gets very hot in southern Minnesota in the summer. I loved going barefoot and wearing shorts. There would be a new batch of babies – calves, lambs, pigs, chickens, and lots of kittens. We went into town for weekly band concerts on the courthouse lawn, sat on blankets, and had ice cream. There were endless family and friend get-togethers, as well as church picnics and camp and a hayride or two.”

“In high school, I was in the marching band and the orchestra. I played the clarinet and was good enough to be first chair. One year, I played a solo at the music festival and our band came in first place. I sang in the glee club and chorus as well as the church choir and wrote for the weekly paper “The Tattler.”

After graduation, Elaine moved to Minneapolis and worked as a secretary. In 1944, she began corresponding with Owen W. Campbell, who was serving as a Medical Aidman (combat medic) with the US Army 34th Infantry (Red Bulls Division) in North Africa and Italy. They met when he was on leave in late 1944 and it was “love at first sight!” Having been awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts, Owen feared he would not return alive from the battlefront. As such, he told Elaine that they would have to wait to be married if he returned from the war. When he reported back to duty, he was promoted to T-4, and assigned as a Dental Assistant behind the lines, and thus survived the carnage. He arrived home August 8, 1945, and they were married August 18th.

By 1953, they had three children and within a few more years had moved from Minneapolis to Madison, WI. Owen got a job offer in So. California and by 1958, the family had settled in Granada Hills. The San Fernando Valley was a lovely place to live with orange orchards and lots of space for kids to run around. Owen loved to camp and the family spent most vacations in the great outdoors.

In 1965, Elaine began a 15-year career working with the Los Angeles County Social Services Department. Owen died suddenly September 13th, 1978, at age 56. Elaine continued to work, retiring in 1983, as a Clerical Supervisor. She bought a townhouse in Chatsworth and embarked on many years of travel with her sister and various friends. Trips took her all over the US, Europe, and Canada.

Her first grandchild was born in 1982, and by 1987, she had 4 grandsons and one granddaughter. In 2019, she was a great-grandmother for the first time and by 2025, had five great granddaughters and one great grandson, (and another great grandson on the way).

Elaine was active with the local Women’s Club and was a docent for the Chatsworth Historical Society. She was gifted at sewing, embroidery, and cross stitch, as well as crocheting and knitting. All her family members cherish framed pieces of her artwork.

In 2014, Elaine moved to Sunrise Senior Living where she made many new friends. She stayed active playing board games, reading, and working her crossword puzzles. She was an inspiration to other residents, wheeling her walker downstairs for meals and events.

Elaine is survived by her three adult children Carol Campbell, Scotts Valley CA., Craig (Eve) Campbell, Colorado Springs CO., and Janis (Jon) Heiden, Chatsworth, CA.; her grandchildren Kevin, Kyle, Kristin, Kelly, and Evan; and her great-grandchildren Braelyn, Caia, Olivet, Miller, Nora, and Brielle. She was laid to rest next to her husband Owen at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, Newhall, California. Remembrances in her name may be made to the Chatsworth Historical Society. A celebration of life will be held online. One of her poems sums up a life well lived:

         Do You Remember

Do you remember going barefoot

Playing croquet on the lawn

The sound of crickets at night

And a rooster’s crow at dawn?

Do you remember ten cent movies

And ice skating in the park

Playing ball and hide and seek

Even after it got dark?

Do you remember homemade ice cream

Fresh butter from the churn?

And the multiplication tables

The teachers made us learn?

Do you remember playing hopscotch

And rope swings in a tree?

If you remember all of this

I guess you’re as old as me!

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