obituaries
To submit obituaries for publication, please call () -
Virginia Fanos // – //
Virginia Fanos, beloved daughter, mother, sister, aunt and grandmother, passed away on October , . She was . Born Virginia Angelos to Kaliope Moschos and Adam Angelos on January , in Martins Ferry, Ohio, she moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where she married in and later had four children. Virginia moved with her family to New Brunswick, N.J., in and worked at Douglass College, a division of Rutgers University, for several years. In , Virginia moved to Santa Barbara with her parents, siblings and children. She worked for Santa Barbara County Auditor Comptroller, and later became a member and officer of the Santa Barbara County Retirees. Throughout her life she had a keen interest in government and civic affairs. She was also heavily involved with the St. Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church, where she was one of the founding members of the church’s Senior Group.
Death Notices ARLT, Catherine K.; of Santa Barbara; died October , (Born: //); she was . Memorial Service on / at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. Arrangements by Welch-Ryce-Haider -.
Virginia was very proud of her children and is survived by three children: Kaliope Calagias of Los Angeles, Dr. Irene Fanos Barth of New York City, and Peter Adam Fanos of Santa Barbara. In addition, Virginia is survived by her sister Mariann Zacharellis a long-time Santa Barbara resident now of Sun City, Arizona, son-in-laws Stratis Calagias and Richard Barth, and daughter-in-law Renee Fanos, granddaughter Alethia Calagias, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her son George Fanos, her brother Peter A. Angeles who taught at Santa Barbara City College and authored many books, and sister Tina Dietche, who also was a long-time Santa Barbara resident. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to the St. Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church and the Alzheimer’s Association Santa Barbara Chapter. The viewing will be held at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Home in Goleta at Ward Drive, on October , at :pm. Funeral services will be held at Santa Barbara Greek Orthodox Church - on Friday, October , at :am, followed by burial : noon at the Santa Barbara Cemetery. A Memorial service to honor the life of Virginia Fanos will be hosted on January th, at the Santa Barbara Greek Orthodox Church. To leave online memories or condolences, please visit www. wrhsb.com
Henry H. Tai // – //
FAIRBANKS, Beatrice “Bibi” Putnam; of Santa Barbara; died September , . Funeral Mass on Friday at am at Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, interment following at Santa Barbara Cemetery. Arrangements by Welch-Ryce-Haider -. GONZALES, Eleanor E.; of Santa Barbara; died October , ; she was . Vigil/Rosary Wednesday, Oct. , at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church at :pm. Funeral Mass; Thursday, Oct. , Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church at am. Interment at Calvary Cemetery. Memorial Donations: In Lieu of flowers please give donations to Visiting Nurses and Cancer Center Foundation of Santa Barbara. Arrangements by Welch-Ryce-Haider -.
In , Henry H. Tai set out from his home village in Jiangsu Province for a ,-mile trek through war-torn China. He walked and hitched rides, slept along roadsides, and dodged check-points manned by Japanese soldiers who had invaded China. It was a month and a half
later when he reached Chongqing, China’s interim capital during its war with Japan. His sole purpose: to go to college. This yearning for learning dimmed only when Alzheimer’s began to consume his mind and, later, his body. Tai died in his sleep on Aug. , . He was . Today UCSB will dedicate the Henry H. Tai East Asian Collection, which he headed for years until retiring in , and to acknowledge an endowment fund his children have set up to support his legacy. Tai’s life stories, however, spanned wars and cultures, and they were the stories of China and America in the last century. He was born on April , , in Tai Village, the ancestral home in Wujin, a town that’s miles west of Shanghai. He was the eldest of the village head and designated to be the family scholar. But his studies were disrupted, first by Japan’s invasion of China in , later by the civil war between Chinese Nationalists and Communists. In , he graduated from the School of Journalism at National Chengchi University in Nanjing and boarded one of the last ships to leave for Taiwan as the Communists declared victory. In Taiwan, he worked as a newspaper journalist, first at Zhonghua Daily and then moving to the Central Daily News as its international news editor. He married Yu-Ching Chiu, also a Wujin native, and they had four children. In , they made a decision that would change the course of their lives: Tai set out alone for the U.S. He entered Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University to study library science and became a university librarian at Penn State at Slippery Rock in September . But he continued to work on his thesis on weekends and received his MA that December. In , Tai took a job with the State University of N.Y. at Binghamton, and his family joined him from Taiwan. In , he became the first head librarian for what was called the Oriental Collection (now East Asian Collection) at UCSB. After retiring in , he turned full attention to helping Chinese students and immigrants in Santa Barbara. In , he spearheaded and formed the S.B. Chinese American Association, serving as its first chair and editor-in-chief of its newsletter. Many honored him by referring
to him as “Dai lao,” or “Elder Tai.” Tai is survived by two sisters, a brother and a daughter in China; three daughters, a son and their spouses, eight grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren in the U.S.
Karen Ziegler // – //
Troy Jonathon Geck // – //
Karen’s Song
Troy Jonathon Geck, , of Santa Barbara, Ca and White Bear Lake, MN passed away accidentally and unexpectedly September , . He was born in St. Paul, MN on May , , son of Donna and Tim Geck. He graduated from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, Ca. He was a student at UC Merced, Santa Barbara City College, and Century College. He worked part time at Venberg Tire. Growing up Troy was a student in Santa Barbara, Ca and spent his summers wakeboarding on White Bear Lake. Troy loved anything on board including snowboarding and longboarding. Troy is survived by his parents Donna Geck and Tim Geck, Tim’s wife Holly, along with Brothers Tyler and Marshall, his twin Sister Paige and other Sister Drew; as well as Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and many friends. Troy died before he was able to fulfill a future of boundless promise. He was a young man of great character and a big heart who thought of others before himself. Troy meant much to many, left us too soon and will be greatly missed by all of us. Troy had it all, looks, brains, personality, and athletic ability. He would light up a room. There was a public celebration of his life in Minnesota. Services in Santa Barbara will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the charity of your choice.
I don’t know what I will do to carry on dear I guess I’ll think about you almost every minute all day long I’ll think about our happy times and things you used to say I’ll remember favorite places as the thoughts won’t go away I’ll remember holding you tight and think about you darling all the night I’ll remember how you loved me until the pain brings on the tears And I’ll cry myself to sleep each night until another day appears Then I’ll start all over just trying to get through I’ll pray all the time dear this just can’t be true For there has never been an angel quite as sweet as you We all seem to understand our time here isn’t long But like so many others sometimes we didn’t get along Now after almost years our time together is gone I’d give a million dollars to change what I’ve done wrong I don’t know how I found the sweetest girl with all the class I know God sent you for me but don’t why He called you back I guess they need you to show the angels how to act.
Obituaries & Death Notices are available daily at www.independent.com and in print each Thursday For more information on this service, email: obits@independent.com or call 805-965-5208
>> Send Your Best Regards Independent.com now allows comments on our Obituaies. Go to www.independent.com/obits and share your thoughts and wishes if you would like.
20
THE INDEPENDENT
october 10, 2013