obituaries
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Deanna Alisa Vazquez 06/02/78 – 09/06/98
Forever Young You will forever be our princess. We love you and miss you terribly. Mom and Dad
Pitt & Bachmann. At the age of 87, Faye had a massive stroke and died 9 days later on July 26, 2015, at Serenity House, surrounded by her family. Faye was a caring, generous, supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. One could count on her sharp intellect and quick wit to help you through the bumps in life. Faye is survived by her husband Fritz, son Steven McCleister (wife Elna Saito), granddaughters Sarah and Emily, her daughter Deborah McCleister (spouse Lydia Emard), and by her two sisters Mary Suther and Dorothy McCarty in Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Serenity House on 930 Miramonte Street in Santa Barbara.
and all stimuli of conversation and “free-thinking.” Elaine always lived in the moment- her close friends and family will verify that. She truly had an unwavering zest for life. Thank you to all who cared for her. She is survived by her two beautiful sons, Landon Harris and Cade Harris, her parents, and many relatives. Patricia Elaine had a spark of life that we will remember always.
Robertson C. Scott
three granddaughters, a grandson-in-law, and a great grandson. Bob Scott had a wonderful life. To tell the full story would fill this entire page and then some. A memorial will be held on Dec. 8, 5-6pm, at First Presbyterian Church, just prior to the 35th annual Messiah Sing Along. Contributions in Bob’s memory can be made to your favorite local charity, or more specifically, to any of those that Bob’s events benefited in past years: Unity Shoppe, the Food Bank, Transition House, Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, Hospice, CALM, and Direct Relief International.
Gregory Allen Knudson
Tobi; a loyal friend; and a loving son, brother, and uncle. We shall all miss his entrances, passion, stories, guitar and song playing, love, and beauty. -Claudia In the United States, Greg’s immediate family members, mother, Leslie Lerner; his siblings (and their families) Dana Sadan, Claudia Knudson, Rafael Osuna, Eric Knudson, and Carrie Lemcool; and uncle, Joel Weinstein appreciate the love and support that have been given during this time. Memorial gathering: Sunday, September 6, Skofield Park, 3:007:00. RSVP (805)455-1781.
Jaya Thomas Jacob 01/02/45 – 08/25/15
08/17/60 – 07/14/15
Patricia Elaine Harris
Nina Faye Podlesny
01/29/66 – 08/07/15
05/04/28 – 07/26/15
Nina Faye Podlesny was born to Leonard Albert Watson and Ada Watson, (née Ada Estelle Crumbly) on May 4, 1928, in Round Mountain, Alabama. The family, including her two sisters and her brother, moved to Wilson, Texas, when Faye was a young girl. She attended Texas Tech University and earned a B.A. in business. Faye met Paul McCleister when he was stationed in Texas during his army days. They married and moved to Anaheim, California, in 1947. She worked in a business office while she earned a teaching credential and began teaching 2nd -grade. During this period she gave birth to Steven in 1948, and Deborah in 1949. Faye and family moved to Santa Barbara in 1957, where she continued to teach at Washington Elementary School for 23 years. After her divorce from Paul, Faye began playing golf and met Robert F. Podlesny (Fritz) on the golf course. They married in 1966. They were members of the La Cumbre Country Club and enjoyed many years of golfing and bridge playing. They also traveled extensively. In 1980, Faye left teaching to begin a career in real estate, working for a number of years for the firm
Patricia Elaine Harris, 49, passed into eternal peace, Friday, August 7, 2015, at the Serenity House in Santa Barbara after a long battle with cancer. She was born on January 29, 1966, in Los Angeles, the daughter of William Geoffrey Harris and Jeannette Harris-Johnson. Elaine graduated from Templeton High School with her fellow Eagles class of 1984. She later graduated with her bachelor’s from UCSB in political science. Elaine started her own company, Kindred Publishing, featuring educational videos and workbooks for recovering addicts and the incarcerated. Kindred Publishing was honored with many awards and an invitation to the White House. She also worked in marketing for Villa Alamar, an assistedliving residence for people with Alzheimer’s in Santa Barbara. She enjoyed being outdoors and time with her friends, hanging out at the beach, dancing, and live music of virtually any kind. She would brighten every room and liven every conversation with her presence. She was never one to shy away from a good argument or heated debate but would rather engage in any
Bob Scott passed away Aug. 10, 2015, at age 93. Although his body just wore out, his mind stayed as sharp as ever until the very end, and his spirit will live forever. He squeezed every last drop out of this life that he could. An avid tennis player until only a few years ago, he simply lost a long tie breaker in the fifth set. Bob came to Santa Barbara with his family in 1971 to operate KDB Radio. Prior to that, he was in broadcasting for 20+ years in Los Angeles and the Southeast. He is best known as the architect of the musical programming on KDB, formerly Santa Barbara’s local classical music station. Through KDB Bob Scott provided listening enjoyment to Santa Barbara and Ventura County residents, plus exposure for local businesses, non-profits, and the arts and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a variety of charities by means of events such as the Messiah Sing Along, Sweethearts Grand Ball, and Big Band Blockbuster Ball. A bomber pilot in WWII, Bob’s service was acknowledged generously by the community. Bob’s family enjoyed his love and support every day of his life, and he enjoyed theirs. However, he greatly missed Agnes, his wife of 49 years, who passed away in 1996. She was the epitome of kindness. Bob and Agnes had many friends, and all of them say they are better for having known them. Cordial and gentlemanly to all, Bob truly was the man he appeared to be. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law,
On July 14, 2015, Gregory Allen Knudson was taken in a paragliding accident in the Vosges, France. An avid paraglider, world traveler, and Captain of Cargolux, Greg respected and appreciated the geography of this amazing world. A selftaught man who studied history and cultures, Greg held a deep respect for the people and places where he flew. Born in California and raised in Venezuela, Mexico, and England, he returned to California where he began his love for flying. Moving to Europe in his twenties, he settled in Luxembourg to raise his family, relocating to Germany in 2014. Greg cultivated and cherished friendships throughout the world; whether it was a one-time meeting or a lifetime connection, he had a way of touching the deepest meaning of shared space. He was my eagle lion brother, allowing me to tag along as long as I could keep up and not complain. He was my first geography teacher as we played hiding-and-go-seek in London, continuing in our early twenties explaining various climate processes such as the cloud inversion while sitting behind him as we climbed Camino Cielo on his motorcycle. He was an adventurer and explorer; a devoted husband and father to his wife Lela and sons Kai and
Jaya Thomas Jacob, born January 2, 1945, passed away peacefully on August 25, 2015, at his home in Santa Barbara. Thomas (aka Bunty) was born and raised in New Delhi, India, where he attended St. Stephen’s College for his bachelor and master’s degrees in English. He came to the United States to attend graduate school at the Newhouse School for Journalism at Syracuse University where he met and married his wife, Mary. He worked as a freelance photographer for the India Tourism Development Corporation that enabled him to photograph the landscapes, monuments and people of his beloved India. Thomas and Mary settled in South Hadley, MA, where he initially worked as the manager of Pier One Imports in Springfield, MA, prior to joining the Holyoke Transcript Telegram (Holyoke, MA) as a photojournalist. When that newspaper closed its doors, Thomas was invited to make a career change and joined the salesforce of Valley Wines, a wine wholesaler in western Massachusetts. After that Thomas was the wine buyer for Shamrock Liquors, which at the time was the largest chain of liquor stores in Massachusetts. While working for Shamrock, he started his own photography business,
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september 3, 2015
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