Elvira (Veda) Young; Retired Hat Designer

Elvira (Veda) Young, a longtime Sherman Oaks resident and retired hat designer, has died in Sherman Oaks. She was 95.

Mrs. Young died Sept. 11 of natural causes, her daughter, Margo Mitchell, said.

She was born Elvira Bernasconi on Sept. 4, 1895, in Lugano, Switzerland. Her family moved to Buenos Aires, where she was raised. She came to the United States in 1930 and began making hats New York City. In the late 1930s, she opened her own business, Neysette, which specialized in creating elaborate turbans and picture hats for performers.

In the early 1950s, she closed the store and moved to Los Angeles and then to Sherman Oaks in 1966. She played poker with a group of women called the Saturday Night Poker Girls and painted with oils for about a decade until the late 1970s when her eyesight deteriorated.

She is survived by her daughter of Sherman Oaks; a granddaughter, great-grandson and great-granddaughter.

A memorial service is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sept. 29 at Praiswater & Sons funeral home, 5849 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, which is handling the arrangements. Donations can be made in Mrs. Young’s name to the American Heart Assn., San Fernando Valley chapter.