Joan Bell Caley

Joan Bell Caley was born July 17, 1928, in Los Angeles, California, to Charles John and Clara Rosetta (Bell) Gooder. She passed away on Thursday, December 5, 2013, after a short illness, she was 85.



'Joanie B', as she was affectionately called, grew up and went to school in Los Angeles, California, graduating from Manual Arts High School in 1946. Not long after being set up on a blind date, she married Kenneth F. Caley in Los Angeles at Church of the Transfiguration on July 16, 1949. They eventually made their home in Whittier, California, where they raised their six children. She and her family was one of the early pioneer families of Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG) where she was thereafter a lifelong parishioner. Her husband Ken used to print the then single page OLG Sunday Bulletin in the garage, with she first typing the copy on a now antique Royal typewriter, frantically trying to include last minute additions before it was to go to print. She was a member of the Ladys Guild, and an involved parent of her children who attended Our Lady of Guadalupe School. She once won the Fiesta Grand Prize Raffle of $1,000 when the family was in the middle of enlarging their home to accommodate the fast arriving children. As an artist, she was often asked to draw or paint for various church events, including the entry of large religious murals that were submitted on behalf of OLG to community church art contests at Christmas time at the Whittier Quad.



Originally a stay at home mom, after the kids were all in school, she returned to working in retail sales as she had before she was married, and went to work for Bullocks La Habra when it opened in Fashion Square in 1968. She was only one of two original employees remaining when she retired and it closed in 1992.



An extremely artistic person, Joan loved all forms of cultural arts. She enjoyed painting, drawing, embroidery work, sewing, and especially live theatre. In her later years, Joanie B took to traveling all over the world to see and learn about beautiful and historical places along with the people who lived there. Her travels often crossed over with her love of the arts, including a special trip to Paris once for a week as a reward to herself after rehabbing from a double knee replacement in an effort to take in as many of the great museums and beautiful works of art as possible. She had a special appreciation for the Impressionists, and loved walking the gardens of Paris that were often the actual sources of inspiration appearing in many of the Great Masters works of art. Joan was also intrigued by the lives of others with a love of history. She enjoyed heartwarming and uplifting stories including biographies on television and the big screen. She would also make sure to let you know how wrong and unreliable any negative critic review was of such a movie that she had enjoyed, especially if it were based upon a true story. She also became passionate about her own genealogy which took her across the country to Pennsylvania and the Southern States in order to track down her family tree where she occasionally discovered long lost relatives in the process.



Joan will mostly be remembered as a loving mother. Though quiet and observant, she was extremely involved in and took a special pride in the lives of her family--especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were a top priority to her, and she always attended their special events, even when it became difficult for her in later years. Joanie B was also progressive-minded and a real champion for civil rights causes in her quiet way by telling stories of past injustices that she had witnessed growing up and the need for reform and respect of the rights of others.



Survivors include her sons, Chris (Cora), Mike (Carol), David (Steven), and Kenny Caley; daughters, Jan (Jim) Lindgren and Becky Caley; 8 grandchildren, Jenny, Julie, Jeff, Lori, Diana, Michelle, Christine and Charles; and 8 great-grandchildren, Gabriel, Cole, Harmony, Luke, Grace, Ty, Noah, and Andrew with a ninth on the way. It must also not be overlooked that Yolanda Gonzalez, Joanie Bs recent years caregiver eventually came to be her seventh child and third daughter whose love and care for her was a true gift from God.