Fallbrook's Joellen Maddock celebrates 100th birthday

Longtime Fallbrook resident, Joellen Maddock, celebrated her 100th birthday with her family Sunday, Oct. 8. Born in Monrovia, Jo graduated from Monrovia, Arcadia and Duarte schools and attended Occidental College before marrying her husband John "Jack" Maddock in 1943.

After moving to the Fallbrook area in 1946, the Maddocks settled in Stewart Canyon and began growing lemons and avocados. Jo worked alongside her husband as he expanded his groves to open a citrus and avocado nursery in 1960, known as Maddock Nursery. Still in business today, their nursery has provided hundreds of thousands of citrus and avocado trees to groves, wholesalers and homeowners in California.

Jack and Jo raised five children who all graduated from Fallbrook High School: Gail in 1965, Steve and Dave in 1969, Garth in 1973 and Marla in 1978. Present at her birthday celebration were all of her children, nine of her 10 grandchildren and 10 of her 12 great-grandchildren, as well as her beloved nieces and a handful of close friends.

During her years in Fallbrook, she has been a member of the Fallbrook United Methodist Church and volunteered at the Angel Shop. Most importantly, she has generously loved and tirelessly cared for her family and friends. She is a truly capable woman and her family remembers her not only cooking the most delicious meals, hosting the best parties and telling the best jokes, but also grafting in the hothouses, tinkering in her workshop and rewiring switches. She has spent her retirement years in her home on the family ranch, being cared for by her children.

Submitted by Maddock Nursery.