Juanita Lake

Juanita Donalee Lake was born in Coffeyville, Kansas 85 years ago on August 7th, 1928 and lived on a farm there with her parents Eula & Glenn Dillon. Juanita had three older brothers, Glenn Jr., Dale, Gene and her younger sister, Judy. A fourth brother, Bertie Lynn had leukemia and died at the age of 4. Her only surviving sibling, Judy Millard, resides in Nancy, Kentucky. Juanita moved from Kansas to Sunland, Tujunga when she was a teenager and attended Verdugo Hills High School, graduating in 1945. While attending high school, she met her high school sweetheart, Paul Muskat, whom she later married in 1946. After marrying, they moved to Santa Monica where they lived with Pauls mother, Bernice Muskat and Paul's two siblings, David and Margaret. Paul was a pilot in the Air Force and later worked in the airline industry. In February 1948, Paul & Juanita had a son, Lynn Marcus Muskat, who presently lives in San Jose, Calif. with his wife, Rita. In November 1951, they had a daughter, Dona Lee Vlaskamp, who presently lives in Rogue River, Oregon with her husband Tony Vlaskamp. Juanita and Paul lived at various places in California and were divorced after 16 years of marriage. Juanita worked as a secretary for RCA and Northrup in the San Fernando Valley. She later worked as a real estate agent and senior broker for Kent Real Estate in Torrance. She excelled as a broker and later became the first woman loan agent in a male-dominated field at Home Savings and Loan. She consistently surpassed all of her male counterparts in annual gross loan revenues and became the "Top Broker" at Home Savings & Loan. She was honored for her accomplishments at a San Diego Padres baseball game, where she was escorted to the pitcher's mound by a tall, dark and handsome catcher to throw out the first pitch of the game in front of thousands of cheering fans. We were all so very proud of her!! In 1966 she moved to Westchester (Los Angeles) with her daughter, where she met and married Richard Riddle. They remained married for 10 years and then divorced. In 1978, she went out with some friends to Admiral Risty's Lounge and Restaurant in Palos Verdes, where she met the "Love of Her Life", Ray Lake. They married in July 1979 and moved into his residence in Rancho Palos Verdes. Ray was an honor graduate of Stanford University, a successful CPA, hospital administrator and business consultant for the KKW Trucking Company. In 1985 they built a beautiful mountain top home in La Cresta California and later moved to Menifee Lakes in Murrieta California, where they resided in a home next door to Ray's mother, Winafred Lake. They were avid golfers and members of the local country club. In the early 1990's, they moved with Winafred to the Oakmont Village Retirement and Golfing community in Santa Rosa, California. They were accompanied by their two dogs, Bebe and Bruno, and their cat Felix. Juanita was very active in the community and president for many years of the Oakmont Golf Club. In their elder years, they moved to Grants Pass Oregon to be closer to Juanita's daughter and her family. They lived in a beautiful home on the Rogue River and remained active in golf for several years. Ray affectionately called Juanita his "Sweetie Pie". She was an avid bridge player and member of the Grants Pass Bridge Club. After 30 years of marriage to her beloved husband Ray, he passed away on April 11, 2009. After Ray passed, Juanita built a house in Rogue River and resided there the remainder of her life with her 2 Chihuahua's and best friends, Chica and Lisa. Juanita was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to her family. She is survived by her sister Judy Millard, her son Lynn Muskat and his wife Rita and her daughter Dona Vlaskamp and her husband Tony. Her grandchildren: Teri Harper and her husband Joe; and Erik Vlaskamp and his wife Tania. Her great grandchildren: Ethan Vlaskamp, and Barron, Bella and Hutton Harper. Juanita is also survived by her stepchildren: Carter Lake and his wife Diane; Dana Lake and his wife Pamela, and Meredith Sole-March. Her step-grandchildren: Caitlyn and Tylor Lake, and Emma and Bryce Sole-March. Another stepson, Ray B. Lake III preceded his father in death and is survived by his children Joshua Lake and Kendall Conn. Juanita remained active in her later years in the bridge club and enjoyed watching NCIS, Law & Order, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy on television. But most of all, she cherished the time she spent with her family, especially with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. To everyone who knew her, she was a very kind and caring person. She enjoyed sitting on the deck with her family and having just one glass of Crown Royal, for what she and Ray liked to refer to as their "Tottie Time". She and her daughter regularly battled one another in very competitive Gin Rummy games and she loved to bet with Tony on the NFL football games. She loved to go on cruises and throughout her life was fortunate to have traveled extensively throughout the world. Juanita loved to sit in her recliner watching the television with her dogs lying next to her on their blanket and being around her family that she loved so much. She was such a kind and giving person who only wanted to do special things for other people to make them happy and feel loved. Her family meant everything to her. She had a wonderful life and touched everyone that was around her by just being in her presence. She had Jesus in her heart and loved to have Dona read passages to her from her devotional at bedtime. God has definitely blessed us with her in all of our lives and she will be truly missed. On September 5, 2013, Juanita passed away peacefully and we all know she is in heaven with God and her beloved "Sweetie Pie" Ray.

Service Information

Friday, September 13th, 2013 1:00pm, Hillcrest Memorial Park