On the first day of the new year, our beloved mother, Ona Darlene O’Neal, peacefully crossed over into heaven, reuniting with family who had gone before her. After a brief illness, she slipped away quietly, surrounded by her loving family.

Ona was born on December 18, 1933, in Skaggs Holler, southwest Missouri, as the fourth of five children to Frank and Lilly Jewell Stephens. During her early childhood, her parents gathered their children and took a train from Missouri to California, settling in Loleta where relatives had found work at the local creamery. The family lived above the old cheese factory in Loleta, moved to Fortuna, and eventually settled in Rio Dell. Ona attended Rio Dell School and graduated from Fortuna Union High School in 1951, where she played trumpet in the marching band.

Throughout her youth, Ona was active in the Rio Dell Assembly of God church. She was musically gifted, playing the piano, organ, trumpet, and accordion, singing in the choir, and teaching Sunday school. She also worked as a telephone operator in Rio Dell.

On December 4, 1954, Ona married Robert O’Neal, the love of her life. Bob was employed at the Pacific Lumber Company, where Ona also began her career, working together in the shipping department’s Bungalow. The couple welcomed their first son, Michael, in November 1956 and made their home in Scotia. Their second son, Gary, was born in September 1960 in Fortuna. The family later moved to a house Bob built in Rio Dell, where they lived until 1971 before returning to Scotia, remaining there until Ona’s retirement in 1993.

Ona’s retirement years took her to Fortuna and Indian Island in Eureka. She traveled back to Missouri and enjoyed several cruises with her good friend Kathy Holt. In 2002, she moved to Michigan to live with her son Gary and his family.

Michelle’s Tribute to G-Buzz

To me, she was more than Ona Darlene — she was Granny Fuzz, G-Buzz, G-Fuzz, and one of the strongest women I have known. She taught me to walk with purpose, appreciate beauty, and show up in the world unapologetically. She inspired my love for jewelry, sparkle, and elegance, and never left the house without her signature purple lipstick and perfectly teased hair. She was bold, glamorous, and unforgettable.

G-Buzz always had a story to share and made everyone feel special. Her musical talent was remarkable — she could play almost anything by ear and made the piano sing, even without reading music. Through her music, faith, and way of living, she taught me about resilience, devotion, and the power of self-assurance.

During her time in Fountain, Michigan, living with my dad Gary and mom Diana O’Neal, she became a cherished part of the community. She was dedicated to the Sugar Grove Baptist Church, playing piano and occasionally leading the choir. She made many friends at the Scottsville Senior Center and was deeply involved in my life and my brother Drew’s — attending our school events, cheering us on, and always making us feel loved and supported.

Ona loved to travel and made friends everywhere she went, always remembering names and bringing back gifts as tokens of her affection. She was faith-filled, fierce, funny, stylish, and endlessly loving, living fully and loving deeply, leaving a lasting impression on all who knew her. I am forever grateful for her presence in my life and the lessons she taught me about strength, beauty, music, and unwavering love. I will always carry her with me.

In 2017, Ona returned to Humboldt County, where her son Mike had also relocated. She lived with Mike and Connie, remained active in her church, and enjoyed her time with friends at the local McDonald’s “Round Table.” In 2024, following a fall at home, Ona moved first to Seaview for rehabilitation — where her cousin and nurse, Deidre, cared for her with remarkable kindness. After a short stay at Frye’s Care Home, she moved to First Choice Care Home in Fortuna, where Linda Taylor and her team provided attentive care. The family is grateful for everyone who went the extra mile for Ona.

Ona was preceded in death by her husband Robert, parents Frank and Lilly Jewell Stephens, brothers Harold, James “Bill,” and Kenny Stephens, her sister Lorraine Waters, nephew Kerry Waters, and daughter-in-law Wanda O’Neal. She is survived by her sons Michael (Connie) and Gary (DeeDee); grandchildren Sean O’Neal (Terra), Shannan Jacobson (Ben), Michelle Runk (Joe), Drew O’Neal (Sheena); and great-grandchildren Devlin (Isabelle), Zayne (Meleah), Griffyn, Hunter (Noah), Ellie, Whittaker, Livy Sue Ona, and Carson. Ona also leaves behind her dear friend Jean Nichols.

Many friends called or visited Ona, and their presence meant the world to her.

A graveside service will be held on January 17 at noon at Sunrise Cemetery, followed immediately by a Celebration of Life at the Scotia Fire Hall. For those wishing to honor Ona’s memory, donations may be made to any local library.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Ona O’Neal’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

PREVIOUSLY

• Fortuna Mobile Home Rent Moratorium Passes
• Owners of the Royal Crest Mobile Estates Ask Fortuna’s City Council to Kill the Proposed Rent Stabilization Ordinance
• Owners of Royal Crest Mobile Home Parks Say Rent Increase Moratorium Could Lead to Litigation
• Faced with Losing Their Homes, Some Fortuna Mobile Home Owners will Petition the City Council for a Rent Stabilization Ordinance

Negotiations over Fortuna’s efforts to cap mobile home rent increases might be ending soon, but some advocates say the protections don’t go far enough.

Since mid-2025, mobile home owners in the Royal Crest mobile home park have been fighting for regulations that would limit how much and how often the park owner can raise their rents. (The owners of mobile homes don’t usually own the land in the park it sits on.) Fortuna’s city council declared a moratorium on rent increases in September, and floated a draft Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) at a recent city council meeting. It offers many asked-for guardrails, like annual rent increases hitched to inflation and limiting when landlords can void their tenant’s leases. But some members of the advocacy group Save Our Seniors (SOS) are criticizing the draft for leaving open some loopholes. 

“A weak ordinance would fail the very mobile home owners it is meant to protect,” reads an SOS statement sent to the Outpost. “There are critical deficiencies in the draft language that could allow park owners to bypass protections, impose excessive increases, or retaliate through service reductions.”

The RSO tethers the amount the owners of Royal Crest can raise the rent to the Consumer Price Index, a handy shorthand for inflation. If the CPI rises 2% in a year, then the landlord can raise their monthly rent 2% at the start of the next year. However, if inflation rises drastically, so could the rent. In 2022, for instance, the dollar inflated over 8%. The SOS wants the law to cap annual increases at 3% or at the amount the CPI rose, whichever was lower. 

The RSO that governs mobile home rent in unincorporated Humboldt County allows park owners to increase their rents annually at the rate of the CPI. Currently in Fortuna, park owners can raise the rent as much as they like every 90 days.

Another point of contention is allowing park owners to raise rents whenever the houses are sold; there’s currently not a provision stopping landlords from jacking up rents on the next home owner whenever someone moves. The SOS prefers that landlords be banned from raising the rent more than 3% on the next owner every time a home is sold.

Turnover rates at the park aren’t steady. SOS spokesman Ricardo Tallamente, 71, told the Outpost that houses mainly turned over when residents died or couldn’t afford the rent any longer. 

If a park owner sinks money into improving their park’s infrastructure, they’re allowed to petition Fortuna for permission to raise the rent. The SOS also quibbles with Fortuna’s plan to appoint someone to determine when that’s OK and say someone from California’s Office of Administrative Hearings should do the work. (Check out the SOS’s other complaints here.)

Tallamente and his wife moved to Royal Crest in 2021 after long careers in Bay Area tech.  They’re insulated from the monetary pressures squeezing out other residents, but have seen plenty of other residents move.

In 2015, residents were charged about $450 monthly. It’s now $875. For some of the seniors living on pensions or fixed incomes, who have to plan their budgets years in advance, slowing the increases is crucial. The rent freeze ends in late April, and park residents are eager to get the RSO enacted before then. 

Fortuna City Manager Amy Nilsen told the Outpost she couldn’t comment on the proposed changes until the public comment period closes on Jan. 30, and said that they’d be “reviewed and considered with attention to legal requirements and Fortuna’s administrative capacity to implement them.”

Much of the existing laws on RSOs focus on making sure property owners are fairly compensated for their work, but Tallamente said he wasn’t interested in prioritizing that.

“It’s all about affordability,” Tallamente said. “We don’t really care what the property owner thinks at this point.”

SOS leader Hilary Mosher was unavailable for comment. A request for comment from a lawyer representing the owners of Royal Crest was not returned. We’ll update this article when it is.

###

PREVIOUSLY

• ‘They’re Killing People’: HUD Announces Funding Changes to Homeless Services, Sparking Chaos Locally

###

The federal government recently announced plans to throw a big curveball at local jurisdictions when it comes to funding for housing and homelessness programs, only for an umpire to halt the pitch at the last minute. Local officials are relieved.

Here’s what happened, as previously outlined by my colleague Isabella Vanderheiden: In mid-November, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced policy changes to its Continuum of Care (CoC) program, changes that would have slashed funding for permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. The announcement panicked local service providers, who said the cuts would have severe negative impacts on the roughly 70 Humboldt County households (about 80 individuals) who rely on such housing.

However, the plan was blocked (at least for the time being) by a preliminary injunction in the courts after two state governors and 19 attorneys general, including California AG Rob Bonta, sued the Trump administration, arguing that the “unlawful” funding cuts “would force tens of thousands [of] formerly homeless individuals and their families back onto the street.”

At today’s meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, a panel of administrators from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) outlined where things stand with the Humboldt Housing & Homelessness Coalition (HHHC). That’s the local Continuum of Care, a super-group, of sorts, comprising nonprofit service providers, government agencies, faith-based organizations and community members dedicated to ending homelessness.

Robert Ward, the housing and assistance coordinator with DHHS, explained that the county received about $1.2 million in HUD CoC funds for the one-year period from last October through this September. These are the funds that pay for permanent supportive housing, and historically the county could count on 90 percent of that funding being automatically renewed each year.

The changes proposed by HUD in its Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) would have reduced that to only 30 percent being automatically renewed for permanent supportive housing. The remaining 70 percent of HUD’s CoC funding would then have been placed into a “nationally competitive pool,” meaning some communities stood to gain at the expense of others.

“And the NOFO would have given HUD the right to reject applicants that previously or currently embraced policies that facilitate racial preferences or engaged in activities that violate the sex binary in humans,” Ward said. (The HHHC has dared to measure racial disparities and integrate LGBTQ supports through partner organizations.)

The preliminary injunction came as good news to the county, Ward said, because the court order required HUD to go back to its Biden-era plan, meaning our local CoC can simply indicate that it wants to renew the existing funding.

At the state level, the largest chunk of funding to combat homelessness comes through a grant program called Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention. Amid a severe budget deficit, the state allocated zero dollars for this program in the 25-26 budget, but Ward said Gov. Gavin Newsom is planning (though not promising) to allocate $500 million in the next round of funding. 

The share of that funding allocated to Humboldt County is based entirely on the annual Point in Time (PIT) Count, where county personnel and volunteers venture out across the county and attempt to tally the total number of people experiencing homelessness.

###

Humboldt’s share for the sixth round of funding (covering 2024-25) is about $3.7 million, though Ward said the application still being finalized. “We don’t yet know what the what the breakdown is going to be for round seven,” he explained.

That will be based on the next PIT Count, which is scheduled for the morning of next Friday, Jan. 23. Ward said the county still needs volunteers for that effort. (You can find more information here.) Locally, those funds have been divided roughly 50-50, with half going to county-run programs and the other half being awarded to partner organizations through competitive funding proposals.

So, is all this spending and effort having an impact? Ward said it is, and as evidence he cited the growing number of permanent housing units over the past decade, which was accomplished by leveraging private-market rentals with rental assistance and adding dedicated units in neighborhoods from Pine Hill to Bayview to Rio Dell. 

###

Bugnacki discussed some of the challenges in helping people with grave disabilities. Following the passage of California’s Senate Bill 43, which expanded the definition of “grave disability” to include severe substance use disorders (SUD), the county worked with “a cross section of interested community organizations, such as hospitals, police departments, law enforcement [and] substance use disorder organizations” to come up with new “pathways to treatment” for such individuals, he explained. 

Mandatory treatment of people on SUD holds is not an option in California — nor does evidence suggest that it’s effective, Bugnacki said — so the focus has been placed on “developing relationship with those individuals, to help them to get to a place where they are voluntarily willing to go into treatment.”

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn expressed frustration with the level of visible homelessness in Eureka and elsewhere, and he voiced interest in the potential for court-ordered mental health treatment. 

“It’s great to [be] voluntary, but voluntary hasn’t been very successful,” he said, adding that a lot of money gets spent on administration for all these programs. 

Bugnacki said the county has pursued resolutions through a state program called CARE Court, which offers a civil (not criminal) process that can bring people with serious mental illness into a structured, court‑supervised treatment plan. Humboldt has been a leader in submitting petitions for that program, and Beck pointed out that the county is developing a new Behavioral Health Crisis Triage Center in Arcata, with a target of opening later this year. 

“So we are doing a lot,” she said. “I know it feels like it’s not fast enough, but we are doing a lot.”

Bohn said he appreciates the work being done but still notices that the homelessness issue is “always number one or two on the hit list when people [are asked], ‘What bothers you about Humboldt County?’”

Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo highlighted the work that’s been done to develop permanent supportive housing and said that while there are still visible people living on the street, “We have many dozens of people who are in longer-term housing because of programs that are are resource intensive.”

She asked staff whether the processed ushered in by SB 43 is helping people more than what they were doing before.

“Well, it’s early, but I would say no,” Bugnacki replied. But he spoke highly of CARE Court, citing in particular Humboldt County Superior Court “Judge [Timothy] Canning’s ability to connect with people, which is powerful and effective and kind and compassionate.”

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone said more public outreach might help people appreciate the success of programs in this area, and he floated an idea for a sanctioned camp on a plateau area near the county Elections Office, a parcel of surplus property owned by Caltrans. 

“Of course, that takes resources and money; I realize that,” he said. “But there could easily be 20 camps or more up on that terrace, fenced in with 24/7 support systems, a place to bring … assistance for drug abuse and mental health and other issues … .”

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell noted the relative dearth of resources in Southern Humboldt and brought up the challenge of helping people who turn down offers of help. 

“And a lot of folks, when they say, ‘Help them; get them off the streets … ‘ don’t understand that they have the right to say no, and that some folks just want to be homeless,” she said.

Third District Supervisor and Board Chair Mike Wilson directed the focus to the issue of nationwide wealth inequality, saying the consolidation of “housing as assets” has caused housing to remain vacant in many areas. But he also said there has been “a huge amount of success” alongside the “huge amount of challenges.”

Once again, to assist the county in its Point-in-Time Count, click here or send an email to hhhc@co.humboldt.ca.us. 

Broadband Connectivity

Later in the meeting, the board received an update on Humboldt County’s broadband access from Connie Stewart, executive director of initiatives at Cal Poly Humboldt. Stewart, who appeared via Zoom as a ghost-like apparition sharing a forest with Bigfoot, outlined the progress that has been made on local broadband connectivity over the past two decades.

In short, there has been a lot. A generation ago, leaders planned for multiple routes to deliver “middle-mile” connectivity — east-west along State Routes 299 and 36, north-south along Hwy. 101 and SR1, through tribal communities via Bald Hills Road — and today Stewart said, “I’m pleased to report that all of the middle miles that we had envisioned in that plan so long ago are now either built or funded and on the way to being built.”

That includes a deep-sea fiber line stretching from Humboldt to Singapore.

“Cal Poly [Humboldt] is a partner with other research institutions on that offshore fiber as well,” Stewart said.

Now the focus is on “last-mile” delivery — bringing affordable high-speed internet to the doorsteps of those still lacking such connectivity — and Stewart said progress is being made on that front, too. A grant of nearly $40 million was recently awarded for last-mile delivery along 299, and the Yurok Tribe is actively working on four projects connecting remote communities from Klamath to Weitchpec to Wautec and beyond.

Meanwhile, Cal Poly Humboldt and Brightscape Networks recently received a $1 million USDA Broadband Technical Assistance Grant to develop “near shovel-ready” broadband plans for 23 small, rural communities in Humboldt and Trinity counties, including Alderpoint, Miranda, Myers Flat, Petrolia, Shelter Cove, Weott, Willow Creek and others.

Brian Court, senior director of technical operations for Brightscape, said this endeavor will focus on planning and design, rather than construction, so communities are ready to apply quickly when larger funding opportunities become available. 

The supervisors unanimously voted to approve and file the broadband update report.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On January 11, 2026, at approximately 10:15 a.m., Eureka Police Department (EPD) Patrol and Community Safety Engagement Team (CSET) officers responded to the 0 block of West 3rd Street regarding a reported stabbing at an encampment.

Upon arrival, officers located an adult male victim suffering from multiple stab wounds to the leg, as well as a dog that had sustained a stab wound to the chest. The suspect, later identified as 24-year-old Tyler Smith, had reportedly fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival.

While officers were in the immediate area, Smith was located as he was being pursued by another adult male, identified as Mitchell Byrd, who was armed with a hatchet. Officers detained both Smith and Byrd without further incident.

The investigation, which included witness interviews and review of surveillance footage from a nearby business, revealed that Smith and Byrd were initially involved in a physical altercation.

During that altercation, Smith allegedly brandished a knife, causing Byrd to flee. While still at the scene, Smith then became involved in a second altercation with another individual associated with Byrd. During this encounter, Smith reportedly stabbed the individual and the dog.

Tyler Smith was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of attempted homicide and animal cruelty. Mitchell Byrd was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

The injured dog was transported to a local veterinary hospital for treatment.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that may assist investigators is encouraged to contact the Eureka Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit at 707-441-4300.

###

At a special meeting last night, the Eureka City Council unanimously approved an anti-war resolution condemning the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and calling for “an immediate and unconditional end to any U.S. military occupation … including a withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Venezuelan territory and internal affairs.”

The resolution was approved in a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Scott Bauer absent.

Since late last year, activists with the Humboldt Anti-War Committee have urged the city council to approve a resolution condemning airstrikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats. At last night’s meeting, several members of the anti-war committee urged the council to take the proposed resolution a step further and to strike out language indicating that the city would support U.S. military intervention in Venezuela with Congressional approval.

Bradley | Screenshot

“The current version of the resolution is pretty good, except for one small issue,” said one speaker, who only identified himself as Bradley. “In section one of the resolution, it says the ‘City of Eureka condemns the ongoing U.S. military strikes, occupation, or occupation-like control of Venezuela and opposes any United States military presence, intervention, or de facto governance of Venezuela’ — [that’s] good. The stinker is, ‘without explicit authorization from the United States Congress.’”

“I think [it’s] completely unnecessary and [hinges] the entire thing on U.S. Congress approval,” he continued. “Attacking Venezuela is bad, even if Congress approved it. At least I don’t think the City of Eureka is OK with it.”

Several other speakers agreed, many of whom took their three minutes at the podium to condemn the “immoral and illegal” U.S. military raid on Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. “Free Maduro, free Venezuela and free, free, free Palestine!” said one speaker.

Following public comment, Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach made a motion to approve an amended version of the resolution that strikes out the aforementioned line of text as follows:

The City of Eureka condemns the ongoing U.S. military strikes, occupation, or occupation-like control of Venezuela and opposes any United States military presence, intervention, or de facto governance of Venezuela without explicit authorization from the United States Congress in compliance with the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.

Councilmember Kati Moulton seconded the action and floated the idea of adding additional language to note that the raid on Maduro’s compound violates international law. Her peers agreed with the sentiment but felt adding additional language would be redundant, given that the resolution already acknowledges that “numerous governments, international law experts, and global organizations have condemned the U.S. strikes and control of Venezuelan institutions as violations of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.”

Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez asked staff to update the last line of the resolution that directs the city clerk to send a copy of the document to top White House officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is now referred to as the Secretary of War.

Before voting on the item, Moulton read the following statement into the record:

When this resolution was proposed, it was about bombing boats in the Caribbean; then things escalated quickly and significantly. I’m deeply concerned about and opposed to our government so blatantly violating international law. I’m also deeply concerned about and opposed to our government so blatantly disregarding our own laws on our own soil, unjustly and violently occupying our own cities. I am disturbed by the dozens of survivors of sex trafficking who have spent decades bravely seeking justice, so far to no avail. I am concerned by the wholesale destruction of our social safety nets and the looting of our natural resources, the desolation of our public lands. I’m afraid for my LGBTQ community members who are facing increasing danger every single day for simply existing. This flood of atrocities is no accident. It is a tactic, and we cannot let the sheer volume overwhelm us. 

I am shaking because I know that this is not enough. I want the city government to let the people in our community know that they are safe, they are appreciated, and I want us to be able to speak as a voice as a city to the larger world. We need to stay vigilant and critical and, most importantly, connected.

The council approved the amended resolution in a 4-0 vote.

###

Stern, but do I detect just a hint of a smile? Photo: Sequoia Park Zoo.

Sad news from the zoo this morning. Cheyenne, the beautiful bald eagle, has moved on to that big perch in the sky.

As the zoo shares on its lively social media channel:

Sequoia Park Zoo is sad to share that Cheyenne, the bald eagle, has passed away due to heart failure.

Cheyenne will be remembered as a foodie who loved quail and for enjoying her baths in the pond every evening. Cheyenne was found as a wild eagle who was hit by a vehicle, causing a disability that prevented her from flying. She found her forever home as an ambassador at Sequoia Park Zoo in 2014. She was an excellent hopper and navigated easily around her habitat, which was designed in stair step style for her to access high perching.

Bald eagles do not attain their adult coloration until they are about five years old. When Cheyenne’s injuries were treated at the Teton Raptor Center in Wyoming, she was already in her adult plumage. So although we do not know how old Cheyenne was, she was at least 16 years old, perhaps much older. She will be missed by our staff and community.

Velma Ruth Childs
October 16, 1923 – January 6, 2026

Velma Ruth Childs, age 102, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2026 in her home in Redcrest. Velma was born on October 16, 1923, in Mattole, to Ray and Maude Hunter. In true Mattole fashion, she was placed in a dresser drawer in the kitchen until the doctor could arrive. She was raised in Mattole and remained deeply connected to the valley throughout her life. During her high school and college years, she lived away from home but returned to Mattole on weekends. She graduated from Ferndale High School and later earned her teaching degree from Humboldt State University.

In 1946, she married Robert Childs and moved to his family ranch in Redcrest, where they raised their two sons, Steven Childs and Robin Childs. Robert Childs, her first husband and the father of her children, passed away in 1997. Velma later married Earl Titus in 1999, and they remained married until his passing in 2004.

Velma devoted 33 years to teaching, serving generations of students throughout Humboldt County. She taught in Crannell, Carlotta, Weott, Redway and later returned to Weott, where she completed her teaching career. She was deeply beloved as an educator, and even in her later years, her family would frequently encounter former students who remembered her with great affection.

Her family was very active in the Mattole Valley, and Velma continued that legacy throughout her life. She remained active with the Mattole Valley Historical Society, the Southern Humboldt Garden Club and the Redcrest Community Grange. She was a founding member of the Weott Christian Church and was one of the longest-standing members of the North Coast Division of the California Retired Teachers Association. Ferndale remained dear to her throughout her life, and she faithfully read the Ferndale Enterprise, staying closely connected to the community she loved.

Of all the loves of Velma’s life, her greatest love was Jesus. Her faith shaped how she lived, how she loved others and how she served her community. She found deep joy in talking with others about her faith and in teaching children Sunday school lessons. For a time, many of the children in the town of Redcrest would come to her home after school for a snack and a lesson about Jesus — moments she cherished and that left a lasting impact on those she taught. Another favorite after-school tradition was sharing ice cream with her granddaughter Kara while they watched The Love Boat. Velma had a lifelong love of ice cream and milkshakes, a simple pleasure she never outgrew.

Velma loved hosting family and friends at the ranch in Redcrest. Many people carry fond memories of hayrides, square dancing parties, vibrant Fourth of July celebrations, big Easter parties and other gatherings filled with laughter and connection. One of her most treasured features of the property was the historic one-room schoolhouse — one of only eight still standing in the United States. She delighted in giving guided tours, ensuring every visitor signed the guest book and sharing the “Rules for Teachers” from the 1800s. She also served as a docent at the Centerville Schoolhouse during the Humboldt County Fair, a place especially meaningful to her, as she had attended that school as a child.

Velma enjoyed gardening, square dancing and traveling, especially with family and friends. She traveled to 36 states and several foreign countries, taking many memorable trips with dear friends Ardith and Betty.

Mornings often began with one of Velma’s favorite rituals — sharing coffee and a pastry with Paul. As the day went on, she could often be found outdoors, walking with her walker, two cats faithfully alongside her, searching for the perfect sunny spot to sit and enjoy the day. Her love for people, history, learning and the land itself defined her life and left a lasting mark on all who knew her.

Velma loved games and could outplay nearly anyone at Scrabble, Solitaire and Upwords. She also enjoyed doing puzzles, often spending time working on them with her caregiver, Beth. In her later years, Velma enjoyed getting out and about for simple outings—getting her nails done, going for car rides (even when the destination was a doctor’s appointment), shopping, running errands and going out to lunch. Many of these everyday activities were shared with her granddaughter, Becca and brought Velma great enjoyment.

Evenings were a cherished ritual, centered around nightly dinners made with love by Val and enjoyed with Robin, Becca and whoever else joined for the evening. The nights often ended with favorite films — frequently Hallmark movies, and for a memorable stretch of time, an impressively long Star Trek marathon — followed by being tucked in for the night, moments for which Velma was always deeply grateful.

Velma also enjoyed lunch dates and outings to town with her special companion, Keith Sperry. She treasured visits from her nieces and nephews, including Mary and Lars, as well as time spent with friends who stopped by over the years. Saturdays often found Velma riding around the ranch with her son Steve, something she truly loved and looked forward to. She was deeply grateful for the many caregivers who supported her over the years, each of whom held a special place in her heart.

Velma was preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Maude Hunter; her husbands, Robert Childs and Earl Titus; her siblings, Wesley Hunter (2003), Daniel Hunter (2001) and Virginia Hunter (Mast, Curzon, Tuxon) (2001); her nephew John Curzon (2005); her niece Joan Curzon Miller (Terry) (2024); her nephew James Mast (2012); and several of her lifelong friends, including Ardith Thompson Bilyeu, Betty Teasley, Doris Chartier and Janice Peers Slack, among many others.She is survived by her sons, Steven Childs and Robin Childs, her daughter-in-law Val Childs; her grandchildren, Kara Childs and Rebecca Childs; her great-grandchildren, Jayden Zamudio and Jensen Stephens, who lovingly knew her as “GG”; her special companion, Keith Sperry; her nieces and nephews, including Mary Larson (Lars), Billy Hunter, Daniel Hunter and Ray Mast; numerous cousins; and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

Service Information: Services will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2026 at Goble’s Mortuary, 560 12th Street, Fortuna.

Viewing will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the service at 10 a.m. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mattole Valley Historical Society or the Southern Humboldt Garden Club.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Velma Childs’ family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.