DOWNEY - Longtime Downey resident Sylvia English passed away May 14 after a 9-month battle with leukemia.She was born Sylvia June Clawson on Oct. 22, 1930 into a large pioneer farming family in Curtis, Neb., one of eight children and 37 cousins. She moved with her family to Los Angeles in 1948. In 1950, while attending Bethel Methodist Church, she met and married her husband, Edward A. "Ted" English. The growing family settled in Norwalk, where they lived for 25 years. They moved to Downey in 1983 where Sylvia English was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and Downey First Baptist Church. Active in Downey's Christian community, she was employed at Joy Christian Bookstore and served as president of the Downey Christian Women's Club for many years. In 1997, Sylvia and Ted moved into a rural area of Atascadero, Calif. She is survived by her husband, Ted; eight children, Victoria (Ian) Smith, Scott (Debi), Deborah, Christine, Geoff (Celeste), Brian (Bernadette), Catherine (Mark) Robson, and Bruce (Joanne); brothers, Delbert (Barbara) Clawson and Charles (Esther) Clawson; sisters, Genevieve Megil, Zella Clawson and Alta Morelli; grandchildren, Gabreille, Zachary, Landon, Brittany, Steven, Michael, Lauren, Julie, John, Tyler, Alithea, Lillian, Tess, Hannah, Jack, Sarah and Brett; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. A funeral service was held Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church of Downey. Burial will take place tomorrow at the Clawson family plot at Curtis Cemetery in Curtis, Neb. A memorial service will be held at the Atascadero Bible Church in Atascadero in early June. Donations in her memory can be made to Escuela del Rio, P.O. Box 6007, Atascadero, CA 93423. Memories and condolences may be posted online at sylviaenglish.blogspot.com or mailed to 8223 E. Suva St., Downey, 90240.

********** Published: May 22, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 5