In
Memory of Yvonne DeRoule
In
Memory of Yvonne DeRouleYvonne attended several SNU rallies with Von Gallion. She was always up for new adventures and had a positive outlook on life. We really enjoyed getting to know her and spending a little time with her at rallies.
https://www.recordgazette.net/obituaries/yvonne-h-de-roule/article_84fd481a-4965-11e8-ac39-637b44fce411.html
Yvonne left us on April 16, 2018 from complications of a stroke after 93 years of a fabulous life. Born Yvonne Lela Harwich in Los Angeles on May 29, 1924 to Joseph and Minnie Harwich, she attended schools in Los Angeles and Hollywood, graduating from Hollywood High School in 1942, just as America was joining World War II. She worked for Lockheed in Burbank at age 19 in support of the war effort. That same year she married Henry (Hank) De Roule on Aug. 28. They enjoyed 56 years of marriage until Henry passed away in August 1999
Yvonne had a full life. She had a lifelong love affair with music. When in high school she played drums with the Blackbirds, an all-girls band that played at various events and at the USO entertaining the troops. She transitioned to the saxophone, which she played until her death. Along the way she added playing the piano and clarinet. She played in many college bands and as a member of the WBCCI Airstream club she played in the bands at their rallies. Yvonne also wrote a piece of music, Starlight Interlude, which she copyrighted in 1963.
Yvonne was well-traveled. In 1975 she and her husband sold their house, purchased a 31-foot Airstream travel trailer and took off to see every part of North America. For 20 years they traveled from above the Arctic Circle in Alaska to Prince Edward Island in Canada; and from Guatemala and all of Mexico to the Florida Keys. In 1978 their son gave his parents tickets to Europe and, although they were supposed to be gone for two weeks, a friend of theirs in Germany loaned them a vehicle and travel trailer, and they spent six months traveling from the north of Sweden to the tip of Spain, including Italy and Greece along the way. They returned to Europe in 1983 and with friends traveled both eastern and western Europe in a VW Golf. Yvonne also traveled with her husband to South Korea at the invitation of the Korean government and while there they actually set foot in North Korea. Not content to see just one place in the Far East, they also visited Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
They finally settled down in Banning in 1988, although they continued to travel whenever possible. Not one to set around, after Hank’s death Yvonne continued to travel with the Airstream, and in 2001 she met a professional musician Von Gallion, who became her traveling companion.
She was predeceased by her mother, father and four siblings: Florene, Matthew, Helen and Donald; and her beloved daughter Nanette.
She is survived by her son, Henri, and her daughter-in-law Maria. She had one grandchild, Eugene, and three step-grandchildren: Courtney, Matthew and Kevin; and six great-grandchildren.
A celebration of her life is being planned for family and friends in May.
Yvonne will be interred at Riverside National Cemetery next to Henry.