October 13, 1920 ~ March 5, 2019
Class of 1938
Wynelle Holbrook, 98, passed away at home in Fullerton, Tuesday evening, March 5th, 2019 of
pneumonia. Wynelle was born in Visalia, Calif. on October 13, 1920. She lived on the family ranch with her father, William Fuller Holbrook and her mother Hazel Haas Holbrook, and her two younger sisters, Marian and Jean. In 1930 the family moved to Glendale and then to Fullerton, Calif. and settled at 223 N. Yale Street. Her father was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1935 and Hazel raised the three girls on her own, never remarrying. After graduating from Fullerton Union High School in 1938, Wynelle enrolled at UCLA and lived with her uncle and his wife on Harvard Avenue in Hollywood. She graduated UCLA in 1942 with a BA in History and worked for the Army Air Force for the remainder of the war. She worked for the Atomic Energy Commission beginning in mid-1946 and later as a part of the Manhattan Project until 1953. In August of 1953 she was hired by the Whittaker Corporation of Simi Valley as a senior buyer for the company where she rose to be the chief purchasing manager for the $700 million dollar company at a time when women never held such positions, and she held that position until she retired 42 years later in 1995. She had always loved to see the world and after retirement she traveled even more, to Europe, North Africa and throughout Asia and Central America, usually alone or with one of her sisters. When she could no longer easily get around, she volunteered at the Fullerton Friends of the Library and Fullerton Arboretum for many years. She survived being at the epicenter the 1994 Northridge Earthquake though many family heirlooms were destroyed by the quake. Wynelle was an avid sports fan and closely followed the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. She was a devoted follower of the L.A. Dodgers, the Lakers and the Rams (until they left for St. Louis) and she knew her sports facts. Wynelle was a strong, independent woman, did not marry, and was never lonely for company. She devoted much of her long life to being a terrific aunt and great aunt, never failing to hike the rugged trail with the kids in the Sierra Nevada, find the rainbow trout hidden in the American River, or help out when someone needed financial aid. She was selfless to her many friends throughout the L.A basin. Wynelle was a lineal descendent of Edward Fuller and Governor William Bradford of Plymouth of the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower. She is survived by her sister, Jean (95); four nephews, Kenneth Jr., Lawrence and William Hoffman, Mark Oliver; a niece; Lynne Prechel; and many great nephews and nieces. Her sister Marian preceded her in death. Her remains were interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale. No service is planned.
Published in Orange County Register on Apr. 13, 2019

submitted by Connie Stafford VanHorn (1953)