Mary Ellen Blaine Wendling, BHS '63 (1945-2019)

Mary Ellen Blaine Wendling
October 18, 1945 – March 19, 2019

We just got word that Mary Ellen Blaine Wendling BHS '63 passed away at her home this morning. Her family was with her.

Mary Ellen was Drill Team Major at Burbank High, as well as Aloha Queen and Homecoming Queen.

She was involved in many school activities and she and her husband Chuck Wendling (R.I.P.) BHS '63 were voted "Class Sweethearts"...

May God Bless Mary Ellen and her family...

Pam Zipfel Kirkwood BHS '64 and Jon Kirkwood BHS '64





Obituary for Chuck Wendling who passed away in 2004
http://bhsinmemoriam.blogspot.com/2011/01/charles-l.html

SERVICES
March 22, 2019
Funeral Service
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Valley Funeral Home
2121 West Burbank Blvd
Burbank, CA 91506

Committal Service
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Pierce Brothers Valhalla
10621 Victory Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91606


A FEW FACEBOOK COMMENTS
Jennifer Todd
So sad

Pat Bushman
My prayers and condolences to her family and friends. Rest In Peace.

Marian Campbell D'Elia
Very sad news.

Jeanette Alexander
God's blessings! Rip

Sue Burnette
So sad. Condolences to her family.

Carole Wells
Just so sorry to hear this. Very, very sad.

Bev Peters
So sad. Condolences to her family and friends.

Cathy Rehfeld Schwalm
I remember her from Drill Team, especially.

Ginny Smallenburg
Sending healing thoughts to her family.

Lori Diane Patterson
RIP. Condolences to her family.

Mary Boriso Jordan
So very sorry to hear this...Rest in peace, dear Mary Ellen....May God comfort and strengthen the family....❤️

Rudy Tirre
I am so sadden of this news. My love for her and husband has been for along time. I will surely miss them. My prayers are with her boys and daughters

Mary Healey
Rest in Peace

Sherry Copp
Prayers for her family 🙏🏻

Kathleen Wyatt Richardson
😢

Claudia Hoffman
Such sad news. I used to see her and Chuck walking hand-in-hand down the halls. Prayers to her children and grandchildren. It doesn't get any easier when I hear of classmates I knew. Many just by sight and popularity and those I knew personally. Thank you for posting Cathy.

Vicki Herrin
Fields Rest in Peace

Bruce Smentek
Very sad. R.I.P. Mary Ellen. She is back with her sweetheart.
Chuck was a great guy. As a young firefighter Chuck helped me a lot learning to drive and operate fire apparatus.

Martha Rios
RIP

Nadine Aguirre Lujan
RIP

Katie Sweeney Hightower
She was a wonderful drill team leader - we all respected her. So sad to hear this - love to her kids and grandkids.

Nancy McNamara Zambrana
Rest In Peace

Bobbi Baldaseroni
Rest In Peace Mary Ellen and Big Gentle Hugs to family and friends.

Jaydean Gordon Dyer
I'm so sorry to hear this. She and I go all the way back to Miller Elementary. I have many fond memories of her, over the years. Blessings and condolences to her family.

May Louie
RIP

Official Dedication Ceremony for Kemp-Kallem Field at BHS

SAVE THE DATES!





QUESTION?

Randy Arrington

(619) 865-9817

Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson, BHS '72 (1954-2018)

Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson was born in November of 1954.

Alan Landros, BHS '70, recently learned that Bob Anderson, BHS ‘72, passed away last year. The two of them had some classes together at Cal State L.A.

Bob had retired one year earlier from Burbank Airport Police Engineering Dept as a Manager in June of 2017. Then he and his wife sold their Burbank home and moved to Northern California. Only about 8 months later he was having pain in his back and side, saw doctors, was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, he died shortly thereafter on May 27, 2018.

His sister, Betty Anderson, was BHS '70 and their father, Charlie Anderson, was on the Burbank Fire Department for decades.

Bob is survived by his wife Lori, his son Marcus and his daughter Jennifer.

RIP Bob.

A FEW FACEBOOK COMMENTS
Barry Burnett
This is very sad news. I have always held him as a friend and in very high esteem.

Judy Torres
❤️

Annette Dinolfo Bennett
So sad ! Sorry for his family . RIP

Pat Bushman
My prayers and condolences to his family and friends. Rest In Peace.

Martha Rios
RIP

Cindy Barcus Aylward
So sorry to hear this . . . RIP, Bob.

Mike Signorelli
I had heard this news a while ago, sad! I knew Bob since second grade. He was a nice guy and well liked! In grammar school we only live two blocks from each other and we had classes together and Bob would always come to my birthday parties I remember his mother well and sister they were a good family rest in peace Bob you'll be missed...

Jennifer Todd
So sad

Carol Forrand Tallakson
RIP

Dave Drucker
I remember Bob. Nice guy. RIP

Nadine Aguirre Lujan
RIP

Penny Plate Forbes
I remember him well...his Mom was my Brownie/Girl Scout leader for years! His sister Betty and I were the same age (BHS ‘70).

Vicki Herrin Fields
Rest in Peace

Debby Licursi Steelman
😢

Rick Ramsey
Robert was survived by a daughter and a son and his sister was a year younger than my sister we lived across the street from them and my father was a Burbank fireman also

Anthy Hellmers
RIP

Jim Stonehouse
May all Rest in Peace, there have been so many of late.

Deb Helsley Bush
Rest In Peace Bob 😪 I remember him !

Loanne Walker Ginchereaux
❤️🙏🏻

Tammy Klinger
Prayers and condolences to his family.....🙏🙏🙏

Bruce Smentek
Very sad to hear. We were neighbors back in the late 80’s early 90’s. I lived one house in on Sixth and Irving. They lived across the street at Sixth and Jamestown. I knew Bob from HS as he was a year ahead of me and we both played football. I was about 6 yrs on the BFD and his dad, retired Battalion Chief Charles Anderson, who lived with Bob and his family, would come over and talk BFD stuff with me. A real nice guy. He’d give me building advice while I was remodeling my home. Bob was a real nice guy and we’d see each other a lot when we had runs at the airport. Very sad to hear of his passing way to soon.
R.I.P. Brother.

Jerry Iggulden, BHS '68, Passed Away in 2012

Alan Landros recently learned from Mary Iggulden, BHS '74, that her brother, Jerry Iggulden, had passed away in 2012.

Jerry's cousin, Scott Iggulden, also BHS '68, died in Vietnam in 1969.
https://burbankhighblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/corp-scott-warren-iggulden-bhs-68-1950.html

RIP Jerry and Scott.

FACEBOOK COMMENT
Neal Steven Hershenson
Jerry Iggulden was one of the original Buena Vista Boys and my next door neighbor. He had his family company, American Printing, create my first fake ID - remember black and white driver licenses?

Corp Scott Warren Iggulden, BHS '68 (1950-1969)

Corp Scott Warren Iggulden was born March 22, 1950, in Glendale, California. He attended Luther Burbank Junior High and graduated from Burbank High School, Burbank, California with the Class of 1968.

In Vietnam, Scott was hit by Artillery Rocket Mortar Fire while on a night sniper patrol mission on November 9, 1969 and died on November 10, 1969 from his injuries. He was 19 years old. At the time he was a PFC, but was posthumously promoted to Corporal. He served as a United States Army Infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 11th Brigade, Company D.


He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angles, CA.



SCOTT W IGGULDEN is on the Wall at Panel W16, Line 53. May his sacrifice not be forgotten.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31513297/scott-warren-iggulden


FACEBOOK COMMENT
Michael Torres
Scott was one of the best Lead Guitar players ever. He would have gone places if he wasn't killed in Nam......

Leota Mary Caleel Bancroft, BHS '69 (1951-2010)

Leota Mary Caleel Bancroft
August 31, 1951 - May 30, 2010
Burbank, California

Leota was preceded in death by her father, Norman Caleel and her mother Kitty Caleel, passed away a year later in 2011. Please see their obituaries below.

Among her survivors are her sisters, Christy Caleel Curtis, BHS '66 and Liz Caleel Weiss.

RIP Leota...

PARENTS
2005 Obituary of Norm Caleel
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ladailynews/obituary.aspx?n=norman-caleel&pid=15172475&fhid=10622

2011 Obituary of Kitty Caleel
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=catherine-kitty-rose-caleel&pid=149163734

A FEW FACEBOOK COMMENTS
Linda Stoddard Johnson
Sweet Leota! She was one of my best friend's sister❤RIP

Mary Boriso Jordan
Love to the family.....So very sorry...Rest in Peace, dear Leota...❤️

Debbie Torres Brey Bennett
One of my favorite classmates. 🌹

Nancy McNamara Zambrana
So sorry to see this. Rest In Peace Leota❤️

Pat Bushman
So sorry to hear this. My prayers and condolences to her family and friends. Rest In Peace Leota.

Edie Walker
It's tough to read about those who graduated several year after you, and passed so early in life. Condolences to the family and may she rest in peace.

Vicki Herrin Fields
Rest in Peace

Lisa Engelsman Birtle
I adored Leota❤️She was glamorous,funny,and a great lady🙏

Alan Landros
Leota has been on the '69 Memorial list for quite some time. Sorry you didn't know about her passing,
 Cathy.

Trudie Hentze
I didn't know she had passed away either. I was in Girl Scouts with her older sister, Christie.

Cathi Fitzpatrick
She was my sister-in-law for a short time. I knew she had passed, but didn’t know when. I remember lists as being a truly sweet person. 💖

Betty Ramsey-Castro
My husband(Anthony Castro) says he sat between her and Cheryl Chapman in Mr. Aiken’s Government class. The two girls were always talking to each other with Anthony being the middle man. It is a good memory for him.

Beckie Ruggles
I got to know her when she moved to Burbank and was in my class at Emerson elementary school. We were friends and she had a great Halloween party at her house one year. Lovely home and sweet parents. I m so sorry. I hadn't seen this on the Memorial list.

Michelle MacNeill
Leota and her husband became my landlords in 1998. I wanted to adopt a child a few years later and ended up with 2 beautiful girls because of them. They were thrilled to have my girls next door. Leota was so wonderful to them, my sister and me. About 2 years after Leota was diagnosed with cancer, my sister was too. She lived with me and my girls. I lost my sister in 2009, only 11 months after her diagnosis. Leota passed almost a year after that. I miss sitting on the porch talking with her. She had the best laugh! Leota was one of a kind and I feel blessed to have known her.

Aleta Dorothy Day Smith, BHS '45 (1927-2019)

Aleta Dorothy Day Smith
July 25, 1927 - Feb 4, 2019

OBITUARY
Aleta Dorothy Day Smith was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 25, 1927 to Lowell and Edith Day. At age five the family moved to California, where Aleta spent the rest of her life. She attended John Burroughs Jr. High and Burbank High School in Burbank and earned an AA from UCLA. In her early teens she began to attend Burbank First Presbyterian Church, where she heard the gospel and committed her life to the Lord Jesus Christ, whom she served faithfully all her life. There she also met Martin “Jiggs” Smith, her lifelong partner. They married in 1949. They subsequently moved to La Puente, where they raised their children: Carolyn, Lowell, and Rhonda. The family attended St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church together, where Aleta served as a deacon, an elder, and a Sunday school teacher. She influenced many young people to become faithful in their walk with Christ.

Aleta worked as a teacher’s aide in special education at the junior high level in the Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District until retirement. In 2009 Martin and Aleta moved back to Burbank when Martin and rejoined Burbank First Pres. Together Jiggs and Aleta enjoyed square dancing, first with the Funsters in West Covina and later with the Western Weavers here in Burbank. They traveled to several conventions and always encouraged new dancers. They also enjoyed traveling to many interesting places during retirement, such as Alaska, Cache Creek, Oklahoma, and Death Valley. In late 2010 Martin passed on to Glory. Aleta continued to be active, serving as a deacon from 2012 to December 2018. She continued to square dance also until three weeks before her home going. She was very friendly and always reached out to newcomers.

Aleta had other talents, too. She sewed clothes for her children and their dolls and Christmas ornaments. She also did beautiful cake decorating to the delight of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was an amazing cook and taught her family about good nutrition and the virtues of homemade fare.

Aleta is survived by her children, Carolyn, Lowell, and Rhonda and their spouses. She also leaves seven grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.

We will all miss Aleta’s smile and her kind ways, but we are sure she is having a wonderful time with Our Lord Jesus and all her friends and family who preceded her, and we dare to believe that she and Jiggs are once again dancing together in heaven.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 AM, Mar 30th at First Presbyterian Church of Burbank, 521 E. Olive Ave, Burbank, CA 91501. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the USO, Burbank First Presbyterian Church, or your favorite charity.

Service for Bill North March 13, 2019

NOTE: Bill's birthday is June 6 and not June 13.

Bob Gingell, BHS '64 (1945-2018)

Robert "Bob" Brian Gingell
July 29, 1945 - September 10, 2018
Nevada

Sadly, we just learned that Bob Gingell, BHS '64, passed away last year on September 10, 2018.

He is the brother of Guy Gingell, BHS 1966 and Valerie Gingell, Burroughs 1955.

Bob was born on July 29, 1945 and after high school, he joined the Marines. Later, he worked for Rocketdyne as a mechanic on the space shuttle.

Bob was a resident of Nevada at the time of passing. Among his survivors are his wife Mary Ann and son Todd.

Celebration of Life was held Thursday September 21, 2018 at Mt Charleston Baptist CHurch in Las Vegas, Nevada.

http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Robert-Brian-Gingell-106436261

He is greatly missed by family and friends. RIP Bob. 

James Nicol Millar, BHS '72 (1954-2019)

James Nicol Millar
January 18, 1954 – February 7, 2019

OBITUARY
James Nicol Millar was born on January 18, 1954 and passed away on February 7, 2019. His parents were from Scotland and James grew up in Burbank. He graduated from Burbank High School in 1972 and will be missed by many. RIP Jim.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/north-hollywood-ca/james-millar-8184806

Friend and neighbor, Wes Clark, posted the following on Facebook:
He lived across the street from me on Lincoln Street. Nice guy. His Scottish mom and dad were wonderful people, too (but I sometimes had a hard time understanding his father!). See that gold jacket? He lent it to me for my BHS senior picture! Millars story: Jim, his parents (Archie and Margaret), a friend of Archie's who played bagpipes, my parents, a Scottish blond about my age I fell in love with and I paraded up and down Lincoln Street on New Year's Eve 1974. (That is 73-74.) Jim's dad played a drum. It was quite noisy but fun. Why didn't we do this in subsequent years? I had a blast. As I recall, Jim was the Burbank Darts Champ at the British pub on... Burbank? Magnolia? I forget. He worked at that place that made foam across the parking lot from Standard Brands on Victory. Another Millars story: My dad once parked his Karmann-Ghia on our driveway, which was up a little hill. One day he parked it but forgot to set the brake and left the car in neutral. It rolled in a straight line all the way across Lincoln, stopping neatly in the Millars' driveway and doing no damage! Archie arrived at our door and said, "Ach, mon, ya gotta come an' get your car!"

Photo below from 1976: Me on the left, unknown Millar's friend next to me, my father and Archie. The Millar's driveway is behind me. Good times!