Celeste Stoddard

Published 12:06 am Sunday, March 12, 2017

Celeste was born August 28, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois to Frank and Magdalena Bradauskas- Kovalon, and grew up in California. She received her bachelors from Los Angeles State University, masters from Whitworth University, and doctorate from Gonzaga University (she loved her Zags).

Celeste had a zest for life and loved “children, animals and people, in that order.” Celeste was an elementary school principal, who had a special love for all children. Her patience and empathy particularly radiated on those with special needs. She was a principal at Indian Trail, Stevens (Spokane), and Lincoln Elementary (Palm Desert). She retired after 32 years in education and then spent seven winters house/dog sitting in France surviving on Éclairs. Her adventurous spirit inspired her to travel the globe visiting over a dozen countries and her roots in Lithuania. Her love of education and travel gave her a yearning to discover different cultures and people. She loved to share books with fellow avid readers.

She remembered birthdays and anniversaries of everyone she came in contact with and loved to celebrate them. She is a perfect example of the old adage “it is better to give than to receive”. She loved photography. Anyone that knew her posed for one, or ten, of her photographs and her house was awash with her prints.

Her legacy is her three sons: Chad (Teresa) Stoddard, Wade (Katrina) Stoddard, Matthew (Dena) Stoddard. Her eight grandchildren were the light of her life: Camden, Connor, Amelie, Creighton, Kieran, Emma, Cole, and Ava Stoddard.

Celeste was very active in the Parkinson’s community taking part in multiple research studies and enjoyed tai-chi, ping-pong, swimming and, dance classes. Gifts should be directed to the National Parkinson’s Foundation. A celebration of life will be held at Holy Communion Church at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 13th. 1245 S Hwy 97 Scandia Plaza.