Joan Cynthia Transue

"Wave as you go by…"

If there was one constant living on 28th Street in Long Beach it was that you could always walk by the house on the corner and receive a warm "Hi!" from the nice little lady that lived there. Whether she was tending her lemon tree or retiring the American flag from the steadfast flagpole in her yard, she would always be there with a wave and a smile. You might have even seen her riding her three-wheeled bike on her way to work or heading to church to visit with the families she met.

Joan Cynthia Transue, born November 18th 1927 in Pennsylvania to James and Sallie Eagle, lived in Long Beach, CA for over 50 years. She was one of the first of her siblings to bravely relocate her young family from East Stroudsburg, PA to the warm temperate shores of Long Beach in the 1950s. Joan and her husband, Stanley Transue, began their life in California in downtown Long Beach and later moving into a house just steps from the bustling Long Beach airport where they raised their sons.

Joan was a strong and positive person; she never took too close to heart the negative opinions of others. She found happiness in her family and in her various Shirley Temple collections. Holidays, like with so many families, were a special time for Joan. The holidays brought together local family as well as family from afar. You could always see the joy and delight in her eyes watching her grandchildren open presents or hunt for eggs. All of this happening in the house she had made a home.

That home was Joan's little piece of heaven. There was nothing she liked better than to sit in her porch swing and wave to the passersby or have the neighborhood kids over for a swim. It was there she found life-long friends in her neighbors and built a place where everyone is family. She was everyone's Mimi (Grandma) Joan.

At the time of her passing she was preceded and welcomed by her husband, Stanley F. Transue, her brothers James S. Eagle, Jere Eagle, Jack Eagle and her sister Jean Benson. She is survived by her three sons Douglas, Jeffrey and Cory; seven grandchildren and several great-grand children.