Clovis Doil Mead, a man who lived through colorful times, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Kagel Canyon, the San Fernando Valley, on Sunday morning Dec. 9, just two days after celebrating his 87th birthday.
He is survived by his daughter Susan, his stepsons Ross Hawkins and Clyde Hawkins, and his stepdaughter Nina Hawkins. He was preceded in death by his loving wife Audrie in 2003.
Mr. Mead was born on a farm in Kansas, near Fellsburg, on Dec. 7, 1920. He left Kansas during the
dust storms in 1939, remarking that John Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath" was the "Disney version" of the Dust Bowl years in the Midwest.
Sky Left an Impression
Recalling his exodus nearly 70 years ago, he said that the sky was so black with soot the family had to leave on the headlights in the truck they were driving
when they left Kansas.
Mr. Mead came to California and went to work on a farm near Palmdale in 1940. His sister Carman
Galbrath, who lives nearby, recalled that he paid for the other members of his family to come to California as soon as he had the money to do so.
Mr. Mead joined the Merchant Marines at the outbreak of World War II. He traveled the world with them, delivering cargo to the Soviet Union and to Australia, working his way up to engineer. At his discharge, he was a Lieutenant.
Tragedy Strikes
In an interview late in his life, Mr. Mead described in harrowing detail
how 30,000 American personnel perished in a typhoon that savaged the South Pacific just
five days after the Japanese surrender in August 1945.
Mr. Mead recalled that when the typhoon hit, several ships tried to make it out to sea before perishing in the storm. The typhoon was so fierce, "it pushed one ship over a mile inland on Okinawa," he recalled.
At the end of the war he was discharged, but he returned to military service several years later when the Korean Conflict broke out.
Arriving on the Westside
In 1954, he came to Santa Monica and worked the next 25 years as refrigeration engineer at Edgemar Dairy and Egg Plant. The dairy was on Rose Avenue in Venice. These days, it is a storage facility. The Egg Plant was on Main Street in Santa Monica, near the Ocean Park Library. Now it is a museum.
In 1974, Clovis and Audrie Mead moved to Lakeview Terrace where they made their home for nearly 30 years. Both were active in community life in Lakeview Terrace
and at Dexter Park in Kagel Canyon. They were known for their generosity and their willingness to help those in need.
Why He Will Be Missed
Funeral services were held for Mr. Mead were held at Glen Haven Memorial Park, Sylmar. A reception
celebrating his life was held at Dexter Park in Kagel Canyon on Tuesday, Dec. 18.
Genuinely loved, Mr. Mead’s care, sense of humor, cantankerous ways and friendship will be missed by all of his many friends and family.
Mr. Hawkins can be contacted at email
rjhculvercity@aol.com.
