For several days, Miva Whaitley Friedri’s family and friends embraced the hope that she would be lost somewhere and not at home when Eton Fire ripped out Altadena.
Her 86-year-old grandmother often spoke about her faith and lamented her life in Costa Rica, where she was born.
She was one of 15 children, married at the age of 17 in a civil ceremony and arrived in California when she was an adult following in her brother’s footsteps. She went on to raise three boys at her home on Mariposa Street in Altadena, where she later remarried and later became widows.
However, for the days after the fire, nothing remained about the house. Her nephe Juan Gonzalez found shrapnel and the mountains at her main gate, still locked.
She had Parkinson’s disease and was walking with slight tremors, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department cited her as suffering from dementia in a bulletin for a missing person.
Family and friends shared photos of her on social media, unable to remember her name and hoped she was lost in shelters and hospitals.
Then, on January 15th, two days before his birthday, the body dog in search and rescue found the human body in the house and notified the family.
“I couldn’t pray, pray, pray, and hold onto the alternative options that she could find,” Carol Wheatley said of her sister.
A relative described Friedri as a devout Christian. This is an independent, wild woman who later worked in the medical field and in child care.
“She always had a strong personality, but under her, sometimes Stern’s appearance was a very sweet and loving person,” her sister said.
Gonzalez remembers spending time with her cousin as a child at Friedri’s house.
He, his brother and cousin loaded him into his uncle’s station wagon and headed for downtown Los Angeles, where the family goes shopping.
“She’ll always buy strawberry milk,” Gonzalez said with a laugh.
He remembers her smile and warmth, how she treated her as her own child, because her mother was working so much.
His aunt Miba, affectionately, said he would take him to church on Sundays, and remembers when he was seven or eight years old, falling asleep at Pews during a Baptist sermon.
“When I was younger, there were a lot of fun times,” Gonzalez said.
The immeasurable grief over her death is highlighted in a question about how Friedri died in her home. Several relatives, including Friedli’s younger sister, Myrin Wheatley Brown, 83, have been lost to the fire.
The morning after the house was destroyed, she was wearing a face mask when her adult children searched for ashes and debris of the house where the family had lived for over 50 years.
“Our aunt is missing,” the family said of Friedri.
Millin Wheatley Brown nodded, and her husband, Frank Brown, said, “Our sister is missing.”
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office still lists the bodies of humans at the approximate location where Friedri lived as unidentified Jane Doe. The family says DNA testing is being conducted to confirm their identity.
Sheila Wheatley joined the family when she married Friedri’s nephew Victor Wheatley.
She remembers returning home a few years ago, finding Friedri, a widow and no longer driving herself, and climbing the steep hill to the Altadena home.
She stopped and offered to ride.
“She told me, ‘No, thank you. I could use the exercises,” Sheila Wheatley said.
Friedri takes her phone number and Sheila Wheatley joins a small group that Friedri has put in her inner trajectory, helping her pay the bill or make a call.
The relatives checked in regularly, and while Friedri was hiding in his later years, she still appreciated their help and company.
“She was grateful to God for helping me,” Sheila Wheatley said. He sees his time with Friedri as a reminder to visit his family while you still have the chance, even if you still retreat.
“She was a beautiful soul, very strong and very resilient,” she said.
Friedri’s sister Carol Wheatley hopes people will remember her sister as a mother, sibling and daughter. The two sisters lost their way for each other when Friedri moved to the US, but they reconnected a few years later and stayed in frequent contact.
“She’s always been quoted from the Bible, so she’ll find something positive about her saying that she’s always trying to raise you,” Carol Wheatley said.
Even when Carol Wheatley might say something negative, her sister would shoot back, “We’re very grateful to the Lord.” She was always reminding us,” Carol Wheatley said. “Her faith was strong.”
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