Norma Jean "DeDe" DeForest MURRIETA – Norma Jean DeForest (DeDe) passed away on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 in Riverside, Calif. She was born in Riceville, Iowa on December 3rd, 1933 to Harry and Mae Clark and was one of five children. She attended Sacred Heart High School and graduated with the class of 1951. After high school, DeDe was employed by the law offices of Birdsall and McLendon until she and her close friend moved to California in October of 1955. She met her husband William Stewart DeForest (Bill) who was stationed at Los Alamitos Air Station in 1957. They were married later that year and together raised three children, Darrin, Daniel and D'Andrea. After college, DeDe worked as a paralegal for many years. After Bill’s retirement from Hughes Aircraft, DeDe and Bill moved to The Colony in Murrieta where they met many friends. DeDe and Bill loved to socialize, play cards go on cruises and spend time with family and friends both in California and Iowa. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Her family will miss her gentle smile, her conversations, caring demeanor and great sense of humor.
Survivors: Daniel (Jennifer) DeForest of Costa Mesa, California and D’Andrea DeForest -Brown of Murrieta, California, nine grandchildren, Andrew, Izabella, Gianna, Daniel, Edward, Jared, Kirstyn, Seth, and Jadyn, 2 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by two sisters, Sharon Meyers od Davenport, Iowa and Patricia Swain of Sun City West, Arizona; and brother, Larry (Nancy) Clark of Henderson, Nevada and sister-in-law Jeaninne Clark of Clinton, Iowa.
She was proceeded in death by her parents, her husband Bill on June 16, 2009, her son Darrin on May 26, 2018 and her brother Jim Clark on May 12, 2013.
DeDe was a member of St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Murrieta. She was laid to rest June 24, 2020 at Riverside National Cemetery next to her husband Bill. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions the memorial service for Norma has been rescheduled for a later time.
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