Camilla Katherine Bodley

Camilla Bodley was a resident of Alta Loma for 44 years. She was born in Los Angeles on November 6th 1933 and grew up in Highland Park, California. Her father was a Vaudeville entertainer and worked as a hotel manager for the legendary Ambassador Hotel. As a little girl she played on the gorgeous grounds of the hotel, wandered through the hallways and explored the glamourous Cocoanut Grove nightclub that hosted big name entertainers of the time. This began her dream of being an actress, singer, and dancer. Her father would take her to the iconic Brown Derby and Clifton's Cafeteria for lunch where they would often see celebrities dining. As a teenager she enjoyed the excitement of the bustling city of entertainment back when the Red Car still ran through most of LA. After her parents divorced she was moved to Washington State for a short time before eventually marrying her first husband Don Pearson at 17 yrs old and returning to the Los Angeles she loved. Although she wanted to be an entertainer, she also loved kids and shifted her priorities to raising her first 3 children: Tina, Randy and Mark Pearson before eventually divorcing and moving to Pomona, California.

She worked at Sears for a time and met her second husband Malcolm 'Bud' Bodley at a local mechanic shop he owned in Pomona where she took her car to be fixed at the recommendation of her co-workers. The two dated and eventually married, blending the family with his 3 children as well: Thaxter, Devin, and Todd Bodley. The pair purchased a home in South Pomona and had two more children together: Lisa and Tonia Bodley, making it a family of 8 children. Camilla loved gardening, painting, singing, dancing and going to the beach. She had a very soft spot for animals and human beings with physical or learning disabilities. She was open minded and loving with those who were misunderstood. She worked as a teacher's aide in Special Ed for over 20 years in both the Pomona Unified School District as well as Alta Loma School District. The entire inside of the kindergarten building at Alcott Elementary in Pomona was hand painted by Camilla Bodley as a huge mural of a lily pond with frogs, turtles, butterflies and lotus flowers for the children to happily enjoy. In 1978 the couple relocated to the rapidly evolving area of Rancho Cucamonga where they continued to work and raise their children. They retired and remained there until Bud Bodley's passing on August 17th 2022. The couple were married for 54 years.

Camilla's health took a drastic turn on Christmas Eve 2021 when she suffered a massive stroke. She required round the clock care and was eventually placed in a care facility in Pomona Ca. where she passed away on January 11th 2023 at 11:35 am just 5 months after her husband's passing.

We will always remember her love and the love she so desperately wanted to feel on this earth. The struggles she went through and her sense of humor and humanitarian ways. She was a very vigilant fighter for what she thought was right and also could be ornery and fun about it when she wanted to be. She was very stylish. She loved kids, Dachshund dogs and bobtail cats. She loved the music of Herb Albert, Nancy Wilson and Tony Bennet. She loved coffee, chocolate eclairs, Mexican food, and she loved L.A.

Such a kind heart who only wanted to be loved and appreciated. We pray that her transition is one where she is enveloped in pure and complete love, acceptance, belonging, health and peace. May she dance with whimsical beauty all around her and in her soul. She is survived by 7 of her 8 children and many grandchildren.

She will be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Covina near her daughter Tina who was tragically killed in a boating accident in 1985. Camilla's favorite flowers were daisies and we plan to have her surrounded by them at the service on Feb 11th 2023 at 2:30 pm. If attending, we recommend that you wear reasonable shoes as it will be a graveside service held on a steep grassy hillside. The service will be led by family and you are welcome to come up and speak about your favorite memories of Camilla Bodley.