obituaries
To submit obituaries for publication, please call (805) 965-5205 or email obits@independent.com
Laurie Romano 8/26/1958 - 10/24/2020
Laurie Romano passed away from cancer Saturday, October 24, 2020 at her Santa Barbara home with her loving family by her side. Born in Ridgewood New Jersey to Samuel and Margaret Romano, Laurie moved to Santa Barbara with her family at the age of three when her engineer father began working at GM’s Delco research facility in Goleta. She attended Marymount School, Bishop Diego and San Marcos High Schools. Growing up in Santa Barbara instilled in her a love for the natural beauty of the region and an appreciation of a welldesigned built environment. In 1974 her father was transferred to Michigan and the family relocated there where she graduated from Adams High School in Rochester, MI in 1976. She attended Michigan State University studying pre-law for two years until she discovered the profession of Landscape Architecture which better suited her innate creativity and love of nature. She returned to California and attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture in 1983. It was there in her senior year that she met her future husband, then architecture student, Keith Rivera. Laurie and Keith were married in Santa Barbara in 1984 and soon relocated to San Francisco to pursue their respective careers, Laurie working for several notable S.F. design firms. Their two children, Colette and Andre were born in “The City“, where Laurie became a devoted stay at home mom. In 1999 Laurie and her young family returned to the Santa Barbara she loved, and she soon resumed her career working for Arcadia Studio rising to the level of principal landscape architect as an owner and partner. Laurie was a talented designer whose love of the outdoors, respect for 20
THE INDEPENDENT
the built environment and fascination with the places where the two intersect informed her work. A member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, she relished large, complex, projects which challenged her creativity as well as her formidable managerial skills and was a mentor to many of the younger designers she worked with. Some of her more notable local design work includes the Presqu’ile winery in Orcutt, Cabrillo Business Park/Deckers Brands headquarters in Goleta and, most recently, the in-progress Santa Barbara Central Library Plaza. Dedicated to preserving the unique beauty of Santa Barbara she served on the city’s Board of Architectural Review and was also a longtime member of the county’s South Board of Architectural Review. Laurie loved the local environment and particularly the beauty of the beaches, ocean and Channel Islands. She was a faithful friend and nurturing mother who always strived for the best in everything she did. Laurie enjoyed hosting family gatherings at her San Roque home, dining out with family and friends, attending local events and relaxing at home in the beautiful outdoor spaces she created there. An animal lover, she enjoyed long beach walks with her dogs, especially her irascible husky mix Lola. Laurie was an exceptional person in so many ways and she will be dearly missed by her family, friends and colleagues. Laurie is preceded in death by her father, Samuel Romano. She is survived by her husband of thirty-six years Keith Rivera; daughter Colette Rivera, son-in law Tom Kirk of Dunedin, NZ; son Andre Rivera, daughter-in law Angela of San Diego, CA. She also leaves behind her mother Margaret Romano, brothers Cliff and Tim Romano, sister Mariliz Romano, as well as a host of nieces and nephews. Due to the current ongoing pandemic plans for a celebration of life are pending. In lieu of flowers donations in her name to the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation, Library Plaza Project, are requested. See https://sblibraryfoundation.org/what-we-fund/ library-plaza-project/
NOVEMBER 5, 2020
Glorianna (Light) Ferreira
11/11/1949 - 8/13/2020
She is preceded in death by both her parents and by her younger brother David Ferreira. She is survived by her older brother Carlos Ferreira of San Francisco.
John F. (Jack) Snyder, Jr. 7/26/1933 - 9/20/2020
The world lost a bright star this year when Glorianna Ferreira died on August 13, 2020. Glorianna was raised in the San Joaquin Valley by parents of Portuguese heritage, and spent her childhood with freedom, in the arms of nature. She left home at 17 after graduating high school co-valedictorian, with a 4-year Regents scholarship to UC Santa Cruz. She graduated from UCSC with honors in an experimental major of her own design, Philosophy of Movement and Expression. She spent three years teaching Creative Movement and Expression in the Santa Cruz County School District where she worked with autistic and disadvantaged children, incorporating music, dance, nature walks and social skills into the curriculum. Her thesis proposed that daily physical movement, creative expression and connection with Nature are essential for human health and wholeness. After graduating from UCSC, she was employed by the Department of Social Services for three years, working in the Food Stamp and MediCal programs. Glorianna moved to Santa Barbara after a short visit to a friend in Summerland. “I felt an electrifying affinity for Santa Barbara, with a feeling that I was ‘home’ and that I belonged here. I returned to Santa Cruz, gave a month’s notice, and made a bee line for this jewel by the sea.” This move led to a forty year career in the legal profession. She started as a legal secretary then earned a paralegal degree, eventually retiring as a judicial assistant for the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Glorianna was an avid writer, devoting four to six hours each day on poetry, essays examining social, environmental and political issues of the day, and journaling. Her connection to nature and her love of humanity defined her life and she lived it true to herself always, to the very end.
INDEPENDENT.COM
John F. Snyder, Jr, (Jack) passed away in Santa Barbara CA on September 20, 2020. He was 87 years old. Born July 26, 1933, to John F. and Thelma (Davis) Snyder in Kansas City, Mo, he grew up and graduated there from Paseo High School. He earned a BS degree from General Motors Institute of Technology (now Kettering University) in 1955 and later a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from Northeastern University, Boston. MA. After brief stints at General Motors and TWA in Kansas City, he joined General Dynamics Astronautics developing Atlas missal bases in Wyoming, Kansas and New York. At the end of that program he joined Sylvania Systems and then Polaroid in the Boston area. While there he was a part of the Annual Meeting crew, where he obtained 40 theater backdrops for performers so shareholders could experience. the wonders of instant movies. In 1980 he left the snow of New England to become Facilities Manager at Raytheon in balmy Santa Barbara where he retired 13 years later. Among his accomplishments was the construction of four buildings in a no-growth atmosphere. He raised his family in Sudbury, MA, where he was an enthusiastic member of the Charles River Radio Controllers, flying award winning gliders. In a completely different arena, he garnered a Best Set Designer trophy for the Sudbury Players at the New England Theater Conference. As a member of the Sudbury Minuteman Militia and Company, he crossed the North Bridge in Concord, MA on Patriot’s Day in the Bicentennial year on April 19, 1976 reenacting “the shot heard ‘round the world”. Joys in his Santa Barbara
years included the Jaguar Club of Santa Barbara, where for many years he served as the club’s newsletter editor. He was a founding member of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum where, in its early days, he published its newsletter. In his retirement years he acted as Business Manager for Prosperity Press, a publisher of career educations. He enjoyed road trips and crossed the U.S. three times, including rediscovering Historic Route 66. He also enjoyed travelling abroad, especially driving through Spain and Italy. Closer to home he was an enthusiastic member of Wine Tasters in the Woods. He was especially proud of his several terms on the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury, where he held a number of leadership positions. He leaves his wife of 65 years Lorelei (Johnston), three children, Andrew (Phyllis) of Haverhill, MA., Robert of Concord, NH., and Sara of Ventura, CA., six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. No services are planned at this time. Gifts in his memory may be made to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way, Suite 190, Santa Barbara, CA 93109.
Hugo F. Mendez
4/1/1935 - 10/22/2020
Hugo F. Mendez passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 85 on Oct. 22, 2020 in Santa Barbara. Hugo was born on April 1, 1935 in Apizaco, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Hugo moved to Santa Barbara in 1959 and he worked for many years at the Biltmore Hotel and at UCSB. He is survived by his wife of 61 years Concepcion Mendez, four children Hugo Jr., Hector, Liz and Bobby, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild. A special thank-you to everyone at Serenity House and VNA Health for your care and attention.