Obituary: LANDAU, ZONA

Zona Landau1924 ~ 2012Zona Elvery Stewart Landau passed away in the arms of her loving daughter Ann, September 25, 2012 from illnesses incident to advanced age. Zona experienced a lifelong struggle with her health from her earliest years. She often quipped she would outlive her doctors and rarely took their advice. She defied all the odds regarding her life expectancy and her illnesses without as much as willingly taking an aspirin or an antibiotic. She willed herself to live until two months short of her eighty-eighth birthday and passed peacefully after a wonderful weekend surrounded by family. Zona was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada November 30, 1924. The daughter of William Gilliland Stewart and Lillie Mae Gold, she grew up a middle child of ten siblings in modest, depression era circumstances. The family acknowledges the generosity and hospitality of the Hans and Alice White family who she lived with during high school and later during college. She served her first mission for the LDS Church to Eastern Canada from 1947 to 1949. Later, she earned a bachelor's degree from BYU and then a Master of Social Work from the University of Utah. She married Dr. Elliott D. Landau and raised his two children, Karen Landau Kindred and Jane Landau Lewis, from a previous marriage after an automobile accident took his wife Shirley Kaplan Landau. Their union added two more children (Stewart Landau and Ann Landau Call), and two more teenagers joined their home (Wendy McAdie McMillan and Lillian Cohen). She and Elliott divorced in 1982, and she spent the next thirty years single but never alone serving as a docent on Temple Square, the Beehive House, and as a Spanish speaking missionary in Puerto Rico. She traveled the world with family and friends even living in Paris for six months just to learn the language. Her energy and can-do spirit were inspirational.The family wishes to thank the countless friends, relatives and church members from the Yalecrest 1st, Bonneville 1st, and Danville 1st and Alamo 2nd wards who tirelessly served her through difficult decades of her life. She loved the Jewish culture and people and spent her last eight years at The Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville, CA. She was thrilled to experience art in the Reutlinger Home where they are nationally recognized for their art program under Betty Rothaus . Zona was honored to have one of her paintings accompany their national tour. Her art brought her great joy and comfort in her later years and is a tribute to her desire to continually learn and develop. Thanks to all the exceptional friends and caregivers in that wonderful community who learned to admire the only Mormon amongst them. Dr. Katarina Rozakis and Loida Gallego gave her special attention that meant so much. Special thanks to Betsy Shafer who edited her life story. Zona is survived by her daughters Karen (Steve) Kindred, Jane Lewis, Ann (John) Call, her son Stewart (Rebecca) Landau and Wendy (Mark) McMillan and her brothers Read (Mary Jane) Stewart and Dale Stewart. She has nine grandchildren and one great grandchild.Funeral services will be Friday October 5th at Larkin Mortuary at 12 noon with a viewing at the same location at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to Reutlinger Jewish Community Living at 4000 Camino Tassajara Danville, Ca. 94506.