Leota Margaret Durham Shawver

Nov. 14, 1916 - May 21, 2010

Leota Margaret Shawver died at the age of 93 in Santa Rosa, on May 21, 2010.

Leota moved to Vacaville in 2001 from Coarsegold, Calif., where she had lived with her husband since 1976. After his death, she wanted to live closer to her two children, Patrice Frary of Sebastopol and Donald Shawver of Fair Oaks.

She was an active member of Covenant Community Church. She also was a painting student at the Vacaville Senior Center and enjoyed painting twice-weekly, taking time out during painting class to go downstairs to exercise.

In 2004, Leota was chosen by Opportunity House as their Volunteer of the Year and was honored by the city of Vacaville for her services. Leota was an avid reader and was eclectic in her taste, from Mark Twain to Eleanor Roosevelt to Charles Colson. She was interested in world peace and kept up with the United Nations news, but also loved the Giants and the A's and also loved Tiger Woods.

She was born in Springfield, Mo., the fourth of 10 children, and raised in the general Tulsa, Okla., area. She graduated from Tulsa high school at age 16 and moved to California in her late teens, residing in Pasadena and Costa Mesa.

She married at the age of 24 and had her two children in her early 30s, after moving to northern California. Her active community service years were spent in Fremont, Calif., where she was not only active in her church but also in the local civic affairs of the city. She began painting in the late '60s and continued up until nine months before her death. Her medium was acrylics and like her reading tastes, her painting also showed a wide range of topics, from landscapes, to still life, to small animals.

Leota leaves behind her two children and their spouses, Patrice and Steve Frary and their four children, Kathryn, Bryce, Grace and Anna, and five grandchildren; and Don and Peggy Shawver and his three children, Donna, Lee, and Luke, and one grandchild.

Her memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m. at Covenant Community Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to either Covenant Community Church - Deacons Fund, or Opportunity House.