Margaret Aileen Anderson

Margaret Aileen Anderson, 88, was born a twin on May 7, 1927, in Limestone, Arkansas to Doy and Ora Carlton. Her early life was marked by tragedy when she lost her twin Pauline to a fire at age four. As a child, Aileen walked miles to and from school, and played basketball with the boys in the school yard. She helped out on the farm and in her teenage years rode a mail route between the remote farmhouses along Big Piney Creek.

Aileen left the horses and verdant Ozark hills that she loved when she was 18, taking a troop train to Southern California. Early on, she worked at a lemon factory and at the Seal Beach naval depot during the war. She soon met her lifelong love and husband of 60 years John Anderson and the couple settled in Long Beach where they raised their two daughters. For many years, she was employed as a bookkeeper for several companies, including Rockwell, and also for her congregation Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Aileen was a voracious reader who plowed through piles upon piles of novels as well as the daily newspaper. She enjoyed sewing, knitting, crocheting, and quilting. She was adventurous and liked to travel and to go on nature hikes and fishing trips with her daughters and grandchildren. She loved animals—especially horses—and her beloved dog Zoe, whom she would take on daily walks around her neighborhood. She attended services nearly every Sunday at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Long Beach and enjoyed going to brunch afterwards with family and friends.

Aileen passed away in her home on July 23, 2015. She is survived by her daughters Deborah Pauline Kolodji and Desiree Aileen McMahon and her sister Omolene Peterson. She is also survived by five grandchildren Kirk, Sean, and Yvette Kolodji; James Wilson; and Jennifer McMahon.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Cypress, California.