Margaret Panneck mourned

DOWNEY - Longtime Downey resident Margaret Emma (VanKeulen) Panneck died peacefully Sept. 7.She was born April 25, 1921 to Hubert and Leona (VanOverbeke) VanKeulen on a farm near Ghent, Minn. and was the youngest of eight children. She left the cold winters of Minnesota and moved to California where she married Liguori (Gor) Giles Panneck on Aug. 10, 1946. They were happily married for 57 1/2 years. She worked at Firestone Tire & Rubber Company until 1948, when she and Gor started their family. An expert seamstress, she also was a cake decorator and "taxi driver" for her children and the neighborhood. She became a grandmother in 1973. She is survived by her children, Mary (Tony) Manica, John (Carol) Panneck, Kathy (Craig) Johnson and Jeanne (Mark) English; grandchildren, Richard Valdez, Patience (Marc) Cortez, Michelle (Mike) McHugh, Michael (Holly) Manica, Melissa (Ryan) Mikesh, Kyle (Candice) Johnson, Kimberly Johnson, Marci (Matt) Smirniotis, Kristopher Johnson, Jennifer English and Julie English; great-grandchildren Noah and Nathan Cortez, Ryan and Katelyn Margaret McHugh, Makayla Manica, Jacob Mikesh, Owen Peralta and Ava Johnson, with another baby boy coming soon. She was predeceased by her parents; husband, Liguori; son, Michael Allen Panneck; brothers, Hubert, Alfred, Paul, John and Jules VanKeulen; and sisters, Rachel DeMartelaere and Leonie VanUden.

********** Published: Sept. 19, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 23