Elizabeth Anne Van Loben Sels

Two months after celebrating her 101st birthday and with her beloved family nearby, Elizabeth Coffin van Löben Sels passed away on February 9, 2020 in the home that she and her husband built on the farm that she loved. Known by her childhood nickname "Pan", she was born in San Francisco on November 26, 1918 to Constance and Sherwood Coffin and grew up in Marin County. After attending Katherine Branson School for Girls, she enrolled at Mills College and graduated from Stanford University. Pan met her future husband Carel on a Sierra Club trip, they were married on June 15, 1940, and later moved to the Delta to farm and raise their five children. Pan was predeceased by Carel, daughter Laurie Shonerd, and sister Jane Gordenker. Throughout her life, family was her focus and joy. She leaves a legacy of her children Topper (Linda), Russell (Marilyn), Libbey (Bruce) McKendry, and Helen (Ron) Cardenas and was "Oma" to 16 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Connie van Löben Sels, John and Michelle Shonerd, and many nieces and nephews. Pan was a woman of deep faith, a charter member of the Courtland Community Methodist Church, and a devoted member of the Walnut Grove Community Church for decades. She loved the outdoors, going on picnics, camping in the Sierras, hiking, gardening, music, and singing, but most of all, she treasured being surrounded by family at gatherings in her home with children and grandchildren playing on the front lawn. In the Delta community, she was a member of the Sacramento River Delta Historical Society, Delta Young Women's Club, Bible study groups, Mary and Martha Knitters, and received a 50-year pin from La Perita Garden Club.

Friends are invited to join the family for a celebration of Pan's life on March 7, 2020 at 11 a.m. at the Walnut Grove Community Church, 14120 Grand Avenue, Walnut Grove, CA 95690. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be sent to the Carel and Pan van Löben Sels Living Memorial Scholarship, c/o the Walnut Grove Community Church, P.O. Box 93, Walnut Grove, CA 95690.