Sept. 7, 1925 – Sept. 20, 2021

Erma O’Dean Hole was welcomed into God’s arms from her bed at home with loved ones Sept. 20, 2021.

Born Sept. 7, 1925 in Glendale, she was a beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother and a good friend. She will be greatly missed by us as our matriarch. We could go to her with anything and everything … and we did.

She had a happy childhood growing up with her parents Marie and Henry O’Dean and her sister Dorathy always close in a suburb of Los Angeles. She and her sister tap danced on stage and on the steps at the opening of City Hall in Los Angeles. She and the family were active in the Lutheran Church, socially and helping, and God’s light shined through her in her life. Mother was in CWC and other clubs with close friends. In high school she and friends danced at the Palladium to Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman and Harry James. She worked in an office for several years before marriage, always taking streetcars to the city.

When she married Orville Hole they lived in the Crescenta Valley foothills of the San Gabriels. They enjoyed family picnics in the mountains, beach swimming, archery and golfing. They had a daughter, Arlene Lucier, and son, Barry Hole, and they camped in the forests of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Canada and traveled to Hawaii and abroad as well – Switzerland was a favorite of the two of them. They bought a beautiful wooded lot at Lassen where Daddy designed and built a mountain home of their dreams with a large stream for fishing and swimming. After Orville’s death in 1984, Erma moved to Carmel where they had honeymooned. Her close granddaughter Shamen said, “They were the true love story.”

A devastating loss to our family was when Barry died in 2005 at age 48 from a massive heart attack. He worked at Lockheed 27 years – often with his dad. Daughter Arlene moved 10 minutes away from Mom 25 years ago; they were close, enjoying belonging to Adobe Questers and spending time together.

While raising the children, Erma was a stay-at-home mom and when the grandchildren were young they, too, enjoyed sharing time with their grandparents in Crescenta Valley.

Erma sang in the church choir and in Mother’s Singers and was a leader in Brownies through Girl Scouts for Arlene.

She and Arlene were always close at heart. They traveled extensively in America and Europe. When she was alone in Carmel, as when at their home with Orville, holidays drew all the family together to their loving home and Erma’s wonderful cooking and apple pies.

She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt and a good friend. She always cooked delicious holiday family dinners and baked incredible pies, crocheted beautiful blankets for family and babies, veterans’ homes and hospitals. When the babies and little ones were fussy, we’d hold them and dance as she played Rimsky-Korsakov on the piano, lulling them.

A gracious lady, her later years were spent quietly at home, walking, reading always, often sitting in the sun with a view of the ocean she loved or sitting in the sun at Arlene’s.

There was a Lutheran service Oct. 4 at Wee Kirk Church near the family section of Forest Lawn in Glendale. Her granddaughter, Shamen, and Jason and children and great grandchildren – Ryan, Bradley and Willow – came from all over.