Mildred Juanita Leinster

Mildred Juanita "Milly" Leinster drew her last breath on September 11, 2014, too far from Pasadena, the city she loved, but surrounded by friends and her favorite song, Frank Sinatra's Young at Heart. The family asks that flowers be sent to her graveside at Hollywood Hills, Forest Lawn, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Milly's much loved Pasadena Senior Center, 85 East Holly Street, Pasadena, CA 91103, http://pasadenaseniorcenter.org.

Mildred Juanita "Milly" Leinster was born to Dora and John Knisel on June 18, 1922 in the tiny town of Jasper in southern Michigan. She was the fifth of seven children and is survived by two sisters: her "second mother", Fay, aged 97, otherwise lovingly called "Bossy Pants" and her adored Clara, "Kay", aged 95. She is survived by a "beautiful" tribe of nieces, nephews and their children.

Even though she loved Michigan and called Detroit her "favorite city," Milly was no fan of snow or cold; so, at the tender age of 19, she climbed into a beat up old car with a girl friend and came west to California. She came for the sunshine and the beauty of our state. She stayed for 73 years.

During World War II, she met "Jimmy", James Leinster, beside the Colorado Street Bridge while volunteering at the military hospital set up in what is now the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals building located in Pasadena. James was a veteran of the Pacific theater who became a forest ranger. Hand in hand at sunset, they walked miles, mainly at the Rose Bowl, and up into the mountains behind Pasadena. One day, James came home with a blue 1965 Ford Mustang. At first the frugal Milly worried, then she lost herself in that wild car which took them all the way to the Grand Canyon. Sadly, James passed away at the age of 63 following a long illness. Milly never remarried.

After Jimmy died, the wonderful car had to go. In her 92 years, she only drove a car once. Her older brother, Roy, "Lefty", let her try, but the attempt was short-lived. She couldn't get the car in gear. Instead, Milly learned the bus routes of the County and came to love the metro. She often carried a bag with her when she rode the rails to pick up trash left carelessly behind by others. Milly probably traversed every neighborhood in our County, but after the age of 90, bent over by age, she limited her travels to her beloved Pasadena.

In the most car conscious county in America, it was walking that defined this lovely lady. She walked for practical reasons, but also for the sheer joy of observing Pasadena's "beautifuls" as she called them. The ever blooming flora, the variety of birds and butterflies, the majestic mountainsides were a constant joy for her. Milly never lamented the growth of the city, but she would fondly recall the older days when peacocks and peahens would boldly walk down Marengo Avenue. As a life long advocate of public transit, it is no surprise she made her career working for CalTrans, helping the rest of us travel more safely and efficiently.

Yet, even after retirement Milly continued to work and in the end, the lack of something useful to do may have been too much. She would ask "What can I do?" even as she struggled for breath and was not happy when the only response she got was "Get well." She sewed and she knitted. Every day, she read the Pasadena Star News and did the cross-word. You could eat off her floor and she did not like to hire housekeepers. "After all," she would say when reminded she might be too old to scrub the floor on her hands and knees "Fay still cleans and she's older!"

She loved the Pasadena Senior Center's concerts in the park and before the metro, would walk alone if she could not find a companion. She once asked if there was music after death and smiled at the thought of stars singing. She was a friend, companion, and, a dreamer within a realistic diminutive frame. Above all, she loved the horses and though she bet little, almost always won. She made a study of the jockeys and the horses and could surprise you with what she knew. At Santa Anita, almost everyone seemed to know her, from the man at the gate, to the lady at the ticket window and nearly everyone in between. Casinos and Las Vegas were also high on her list, but only if the bet was small and the risk controllable. She carefully careened down the road of her life.

The day before she died she asked if she would be home to see the purple trees bloom. She did not make it home. Yet, one can hope heaven has jacaranda trees under which Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald croon while Milly sings along. Otherwise, the loss for those left behind must be too hard to bear. No longer will we see her deep blue eyes flash signaling she will soon erupt with contagious laughter, often for no other reason than she lived in "one of the most beautiful places", Pasadena, California, USA.

Perhaps, if we look closely, we can catch a glimpse of her indomitable spirit walking up and down Pasadena's tree-lined avenues, free in the "beautiful" California sunshine.