Odette Horsley

1923 - 2010

Odette Horsley 1923 - 2010 Odette Marcelle Horsley died the morning of October 29, 2010 in her daughter's home in Placerville, CA. Odette was born January 19, 1923, in Fresno, CA. She was the eldest daughter of Etienne (Stephen) Peter Harron and Marcelle Andree Carbonnel Harron. She had a younger sister, Yvonne Sylvaine Harron Greenleaf who was born September 18, 1924 and died May 6, 2007. Odette and her family moved to Bakersfield in 1927 where her father first worked as a delivery truck driver for Golden Crust Bakery and later owned and operated the El Tejon Service Station and Grocery Store. They lived on K Street near what is now the Garces Circle before moving to 518 Roberts Lane in Oildale, CA. Odette attended Beardsley Elementary School and graduated from Kern County Union High School in 1940. She attended Bakersfield Junior College for two years and then graduated from UCLA in 1944 with a degree in Liberal Arts with a French major and Spanish minor degree. After college Odette returned to Bakersfield and worked for the U.S. and California State Employment Services where she met her best friend, Phyllis Ford Augustus. During this time she also met William Robert Horsley at a Catholic social youth group event. They were the second couple married in the newly built Christ the King Catholic Church in Oildale, on September 1, 1951. Bill and Odette raised five children, Claire, Lorraine, Elaine, Gail, and Stephen. While raising her children Odette worked for 18 years at the Kern County Assessors Office as an Account Clerk and Assessment of Roles Corrections Supervisor. During her retirement years, Odette, with the help of her sister, Yvonne, took care of their mother, Marcelle, who lived to be 100 years old. She leaves behind her five children, their spouses, and her grandchildren, Adrienne Daney, Marguerite Antonioli, Aaron and Emma Horsley, and her niece and three nephews and their children all of whom she loved as her own. She was an avid pet lover and donated continually to animal health organizations and to causes supported by the Catholic Church. Odette was a life-long member of the Young Ladies Institute - St. Margaret Mary's #82, a member of the Christ the King Ladies Guild, Bakersfield Community House, and Kern County Retirees Association. She will be buried at the Hillcrest Memorial Park. Call 916-416-1376 for services date and time. In lieu of flowers you can donate to the Christ the King Parish Improvement Fund, 1800 Bedford Way, Bakersfield, CA 93308, or to the Catholic St. Margaret Mary's Young Ladies Institute at 1301 New Stine #108, Bakersfield, CA 92309-3501. Doughty-Calhoun'O'Meara www.bakersfield.com/obits