Eleanor Jane Bolesta

Eleanor Bolesta was born April 7, 1923, on Whidbey Island. She attended Oak Harbor High School and Everett Community College. She enlisted in the U.S. Navy in June of 1943 for the duration of World War II and was honorably discharged in July 1946. Her parents were Lyle and Edna Muzzall.

Eleanor married Charles Bolesta, a U.S. Marine, in Oak Harbor. In 1946, Eleanor and Chuck moved to Tulelake, Calif. after Eleanor became the first women in the Bureau of Reclamation’s history to win a homestead lottery. The Bolestas built a home and raised five children on their 112-acre farm in Tulelake.

Eleanor decided to complete her college education, earning her bachelor’s degree at Washington State University in Pullman and a master’s degree at UC Davis. She went on to teach at California’s Compton Community College and then worked as the director of the Learning Resources Center at Anchorage Community College in Alaska from 1974 until 1983.

Upon her retirement, Eleanor moved back the the family homestead in Tulelake, Calif., until her death, Oct. 7, 2008. She spent her retirement growing things and traveling and sharing the stories with her many friends and family.

She was preceded in death by her four brothers, Robert, Murray, Benjamin and David. She is survived by her five children and their families. Her sister, Laura Muzzall Vanderbeek, resides here in Oak Harbor. Eleanor suffered with Parkinson’s disease for many years and we will surely miss her.