Dana Rae Corbet

Dana was born on October 12, 1924 on her family’s farm in Humphreys County, Missouri, the youngest of four children, to John and Emily Ruth McKee. Her first five years were fairly typical as her father worked the farm and her mother tended to the children and their home. Then two weeks after her fifth birthday the New York stock market collapsed and the Great Depression began. Three years later their farm was lost for want of $500 and they moved to the nearby town of Milan. Her parents struggled to make ends meet over the next 10 years like the rest of the country. During this time her mother led her to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and Dana never waived in her walk with him throughout the rest of her days on earth.

In December 1942, after Dana had graduated from high school and turned 18 years old, the family moved to Thermal, California (a small desert town in the Coachella Valley south of Palm Springs). Dana’s sister Vivian and husband John, a teacher, were already living there with their two boys Jack and David. Dana, her father and brother Bill all got jobs at the nearby Army Air Force Base. Dana opportunely worked in the Base general store where thousands of single young soldiers would shop.

Then about two months later, while working at the Base store, Dana spotted a young soldier that caught her eye and she commented to a co-worker, in an uncharacteristically compulsive manner, that she intended to marry him. She then proceeded to approach him and introduce herself. When questioned about this seemingly out of character behavior, she quipped, “You should have seen him in that uniform!” Over the next 3 months that soldier, Joseph Marion Corbet, and Dana developed a strong affection for each other.

Then in May 1943, Joe was shipped to New York in preparation for transport to England on the English cruise ship Queen Mary which had been converted to troop ship. During that same month, her family moved to Glendale, California and Dana, Bill, and her father got jobs at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank. From that time until his return in December 1945, Joe and Dana wrote letters to each other nearly every single day. This was aided because Joe knew how to type and his main assignment at US Air Base at Raydon, England turned out to be typing orders for the fighter wing.

They were married just three months later in March 1946 at Tropico Presbyterian Church in Glendale. Shortly after his return Joe landed a job with the Southern Pacific railroad that would last 36 years. Dana quit her job at Lockheed shortly before giving birth to their eldest son Greg on June 28, 1951 and they moved to their home of 60 years on Bluffdale Drive, Sun Valley in December 1952.

They joined Bethany Presbyterian Church in Burbank shortly after moving there and would get the first of five Boston Terrier dogs in 1953. She would give birth to their youngest son Mark on July 2, 1956 while living there. Dana loved her home and even loved keeping it clean. Joe and the boys could always count on her gentle spirit and kind words. In fact, no one can ever recall her using profanity, yelling, or speaking ill of anyone. She was always there to provide love and support to her family and friends. She was truly a rock upon which to build a home.

Once Mark started school in 1961 Dana, ever industrious, got a job selling Avon beauty products door-to-door while the children were at school. Over the subsequent 20 years, she proved to be very effective at the job earning significant extra money for the family, winning numerous sales awards, and making many longtime friends with the ladies in the neighborhood. By 1963, she had saved enough money for them to buy a travel trailer for family weekends and vacations. This began a 32 year love affair they would have with trailering.

Although they trailered all over the United States, including Alaska, as well as Canada and Mexico, Dana’s favorite place on earth was Emma Wood State beach just 90 miles away in Ventura. They and their boys as well as her sisters Leota and Vivian, and nieces and nephews Jean, Phillip, Jack, Linda, Patti and their spouses and families all spent weekends and weeks with them at Emma Wood. She loved the beautiful sunshine glimmering on the ocean, the bountiful marine life, the nightly camp fires, and most of all sharing these things with all her family members.

Dana also developed lifelong friendships with a number of the ladies in the neighborhood centered around their love of coffee and sharing their joys and sorrows. Cam, Margaret, Betty, and Sue would remain her loving friends for the rest of their lives despite any distance that separated them. When her boys had grown up and moved out leaving her with an empty nest, Dana threw herself into helping others through assisting with and then managing the Lord’s Kitchen at Bethany which provided fresh hot meals to the needy and homeless. She continued this mission until she was more than 80 years old.

After Greg and wife Terri, and Mark and wife Karen provided her with grandchildren Breanna, Danny, Shannon, and Ryan, she proved invaluable in helping the young mothers get through difficult times while smothering the children with love and attention in her steady gentle way. They were such a joy to her. In her final years, the highlight of her life was her great-grandchildren, Eli and Caris, provided to her by Breanna and husband James. Seeing them never failed to bring a huge smile to her face.

Dana also had many longtime friendships with those at Bethany and later Burbank First Presbyterian church. These friends, particularly Jean Skinner, were especially precious to her after Joe’s passing in 2003. Dana said that his leaving her after 60 years was the only thing he ever did to disappoint her. She missed him so much that only her faith, family, and friends kept despair at bay. In her final days, Dana longed be with the Lord, Joe, and all those she loved that are already there awaiting her.