Word has been received of the May 31 death of Julia Colburn, widow of the late Grace Brethren pastor, Ralph Colburn. Her obituary appears below.
Julia was born in Toronto, Canada, to Fred and Dorothy Rowland in 1920 and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1923. She graduated from John C. Fremont High School in 1939 and attended L. A. City College for 2 years.
She married Rev. Ralph J. Colburn in 1954 and helped him establish the Grace Brethren Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The family moved to Long Beach in 1968 where Ralph took over as pastor of Community Grace Brethren of Long Beach. Ralph later served at North Long Beach Brethren Church and Seacoast Grace Church in Los Alamitos. She played both piano and organ in all of the churches Ralph served at and continued playing in different church services well into her 90’s. She loved her family and friends and will be missed by all who knew her.
Julia is predeceased by her husband Ralph in 1996 and survived by her sons Mark (Kathy) and Tim (Lisa) and her grandchildren Kimberly, Jonathan, Alexa, Christian, and Kyle.
A memorial service was held at Seacoast Grace Church in Los Alamitos, Calif., on June 10.