obituaries
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Cynthia Marsh Lloyd-Butler 06/16/27-10/29/16
Cynthia Marsh Lloyd-Butler a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend passed away on October 29, 2016, peacefully, at home with her husband, James, by her side, and her daughter, son, grandchildren and caregivers and dependents nearby. Born Cynthia Dolores Frances Marsh on June 16, 1927, she was the daughter of Herminia Julia Oreña Marsh of Los Alamos and Los Angeles, and John Thomas Marsh of London. Cynthia’s early years were spent with her mother and father at Rancho La Lomita in Los Alamos, one of the sub tracts of Rancho Elena that had been owned by her paternal great-grandfather, Gaspar Oreña, and later, her grandfather Darío Oreña. After some years, her father, John, returned to his position in the British Merchant Navy, and he kept in constant contact with Cynthia by post. He sent her countless letters, books, etchings, and antiques from all over the world, which she cherished throughout her life. “Johnny” as she referred to her father, was assumed lost on a British Merchant Naval vessel in the surprise attack of Sydney Harbor in 1942, after which letters to him were returned “person not found.” His loss influenced her deeply. Cynthia cherished her father’s memory through her relationship with her father’s brother George, and later with her connections to her paternal cousins that she maintained throughout her life. Upon meeting Doris Marsh, her cousin and doppelgänger, for the first time in the early 1950s, Cynthia looked at her and exclaimed, “Me… but blond!” and immediately erupted into hugs and kisses. After her early years with her mother and father at La Lomita, Cynthia moved with her mother to Los Angeles, where she lived in the family home of her grandparents Herminia Ortiz and Darío Oreña at 202 Van Ness Avenue. She was schooled at St. Brendan School, Los Angeles, and continued to spend summers at Rancho La Lomita with her grandparents, cousins and aunts. By no means a cowgirl as were many of her cousins, Cynthia was neither a fan of horses, nor any livestock for that matter, owing in part to a fabled story where one of the ranch goats butted her into a pan of water. After grade school in Los Angeles, Cynthia then graduated from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in La Canada 1945. At Flintridge, she developed her love for music and 22
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opera and often wistfully confessed she always dreamed to be an opera singer, but was deprived of a singing voice and a bit dismayed when friends suggested she mouth and not sing the words. Never deterred, and always determined, Cynthia went on to USC, where she obtained a degree in education in 1949 and put her degree to work teaching 2nd and 3rd grade for 8 years. It was during these years that her sense of adventure, which she shared with both her mother and father, took hold. She loved to travel and was endlessly curious. One of her first adventures was a trip with her mother covering a vast portion of the 1,337-mile Alaska Highway which had just been completed in 1945, with a small group of intrepid travelers in a tour bus with no springs. In 1955, she traveled to Japan, where she stayed for over a year, teaching school to children of American Dependents stationed in Tokyo. The trip to Japan was a three week voyage across the Pacific on a spartan Naval Vessel where she proudly became an expert at shuffle board. Upon arrival in post-war Tokyo, she was billeted for a year in an apartment block in Marunouchi, which still stands and which her daughter and son, Camilla and Tomás, visited while retracing her path in Japan last autumn. Of far greater importance to Cynthia than adventure, travel and career, were her husband, her family and the sense of place and stability she created for her family in her home and garden. That chapter of her life began soon after her year abroad, for soon after returning to California she was introduced to her future husband, James Lloyd-Butler, at a picnic organized by James’s aunt Josephine Edwards near the bridge over the Santa Ynez River. Cynthia and James Lloyd-Butler were married on February 9, 1957, at the Santa Barbara Mission, the site of many ceremonies and celebrations of her California ancestors, especially the Oreña family. Cynthia and Jim began their married life in their home on The Broome Ranch, where James continued his agricultural career as the superintendent of row crops. It was in a cottage, near the Revlon Slough, that Cynthia began her life long work of raising and nurturing Camilla and Tomás. Eventually Cynthia and her family moved to her beloved home on “C” street where she took great pleasure in her garden and her home and where she said she never felt alone since she could always see the entire town drive by through her kitchen window. At her home in Oxnard, Cynthia perfected the art of motherhood. Long before “quality time” and virtual mothering, Cynthia was always home for her children. She was there to meet them when they came home from school, to help with homework, treat Camilla’s cheerleading injuries, or fix a “pilón” (snack). She could turn the most humble ingredients into delicious dinners, and nearly went into the cookie business supplying Tomás and most of his boarding school classmates while away at school.
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In her off time from motherhood, Cynthia became active in many organizations and devoted time to many charities, including the National Charity League and the Alumnae of the Pi Beta Phi. The next chapter of her life brought Cynthia back to the ranch, this time to Rancho Santa Clara del Norte, where she moved with her husband and family into the LloydButler family home after James took over the management of his family’s property in 1982. Upon moving to The Ranch, Cynthia enabled the family home to evolve to reflect her own love for antique furniture and art, as well as of the long histories of both her family and that of her husband. Cynthia also updated the garden with influences from their travels, adding a white garden patterned after one she and her husband had admired at Sissinghurst in Kent. Cynthia also returned to teaching where she worked as a teacher’s aide in the El Rio school district for several years. Now, an accomplished wife and mother, she turned her attention to grandmothering. She took great interest in each of her four grandsons’ nurturing, education and development. When asked to encapsulate her memory into just one word, the four boys in rank order, remember: her laugh, her love, her cooking and her dedication. Cynthia was able to drag her ranch-bound husband off on a few trips, where, like both her father and mother who loved exploring the world, she returned with objects and remembrances her children and grandchildren will never forget: a collection of minute sea shells from Hawaii, a lace baptismal gown from Madrid for her grandchildren and a collection of carved statues of the saints and of the Virgin Mary from Spain, Mexico, Italy and France. Throughout her life, Cynthia was a devoted Catholic, and, despite a long struggle with dementia, almost never missed Sunday Mass. Cynthia’s faith was complete in every respect. It centered on the teachings of the Catholic Church, the ritual of weekly and often daily mass, the power of prayer and the example and effort of charitable works outside the Church. She continued her work outside the church through her work with Ventura County Catholic Charities — where she was a member of the Advisory Committee for many years — the Assistance League, and Las Patronas. She never forgot her prayers; in fact, her last words were the Hail Mary which she prayed in Spanish with her husband and Lupe, her longtime caregiver. Cynthia is survived by her husband of 59 years, James Lloyd-Butler. She is also survived by her daughter, Camilla Ross Lloyd-Butler Shafer; Camilla’s husband, Arthur Hammel Shafer and by their children, James Shafer and Weiler Worthington Shafer. She is further survived by her son, Tomás Oreña Lloyd-Butler, and by his two sons, Ross Oreña Lloyd-Butler and John Forderer Lloyd-Butler. A private rosary and vigil was held in the family chapel at Rancho
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Santa Clara del Norte followed by a Requiem Mass at Santa Clara Church at 10:00AM, Monday, November 7. A brief private internment ceremony and lunch will follow at Rancho Santa Clara del Norte at 12:15. Friends and family are welcome and encouraged to attend the Requieum Mass and lunch. The family wishes to thank the nursing staff at St. John’s hospital and Cynthia’s devoted caregivers, Lupe Gonzales, Rosa Lopez and Amanda Quist. In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations to the Catholic Charities of Ventura Country, The Alzheimer's Association or a charity of their choice.
Brooke E. Sawyer Jr. 03/05/25-09/30/16
Brooke Sawyer died September 30th at home at Valle Verde, Santa Barbara. He was 91 years old. The son of Brooke E. Sawyer, Sr., and Mabel Gerhard Edwards, Brooke was born in Redlands and spent his early years living on the family farm near Saticoy. He attended The Thacher School in Ojai and the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity; earned his bachelor’s degree in soil science; and met Barbara, his wife of 66 years. Following graduation from Cal, Brooke began married life on the family citrus and avocado ranch in Santa Paula, and worked in various capacities for The Samuel Edwards Associates. The family moved to Davis in 1958, where Brooke earned his master’s degree in irrigation and water science at UCD, and then a doctorate in education at Stanford University. His career encompassed farming and college administration, including at California State University Sacramento, the California State University Moss Landing Marine Labs, and Pomona College in Claremont. Following his retirement in 1977 he and Barbara settled full time in the family’s summer home in Santa Barbara. Brooke was an avid sailor, hiker, skier, tennis player and world traveler. He served in the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War, retiring from the Naval Reserve as a full Commander. He was a longtime member of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club, and skipper of first a ketch, and then a cutter, each named the Mary Powell after his great-grandfather’s Hudson River steamboat. He was an avid supporter of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and its Sea Center, working in many capacities as a volunteer for both. He was a dedicated Rotarian, and a member of Rotary Clubs that included Santa Paula, Sacramento East, Claremont, Montecito and Santa Barbara Sunrise. He was a faithful and active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Santa Paula, St. Martin’s in Davis, St. Ambrose in Claremont, and All Saints by the Sea in Montecito. In all of his community activities he was a fervent advocate for educational opportunities. Brooke was preceded in death by
Barbara. He is survived by his sisters Carol and Holly; by his sons and daughters-in-law Robert and Alison, Andrew and Carol Bingham, and Peter and Donna Jones; by his grandchildren Jessica (Robert Gwilliam), Sarah (Alain Mathaukot), Martin, Ruth, Katherine and Kristin; and by his great-grandson Sawyer Bayonne. Family and friends are invited to a memorial service for Brooke to be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday November 26th at All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church, 83 Eucalyptus Lane, Montecito CA 93108, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, friends are invited to remember Brooke as they make their own gifts to favorite charities and non-profit organizations.
James Richard (Dick) Gardner 09/04/24-10/29/16
James Richard (Dick) Gardner, loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at home. He was married to his lovely wife, Lorrie Gardner, for 68 years. He is survived by his 3 children – John Gardner of Atascadero, Ellen Kenoss of Santa Barbara, and Ken Gardner of Lancaster; his 6 grandchildren - Carly Romani, Christa Ormonde, Holly Hepburn, Timothy Gardner, Sean Kenoss and Andrew Kenoss; and 6 great-grandchildren - McKenzie St. Peter, Massimo Romani, David Ormonde, Ben Ormonde, James Gardner and Kennedy Gardner. Dick Gardner was born in Washington, Iowa, on September 4, 1924. He was active in numerous community activities including Kiwanis, the Masonic Lodge and his local church. Dick was a World War II veteran, having enlisted in January 1944. He was sworn in at Des Moines, IA, and was shipped to Ft. McEllan, Alabama, for basic training. He left for France on the first of October 1944 and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Dick’s career included Swift & Company, Ott’s Hardware, and Motel 6 Corporate. A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara at 305 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, (805) 963-3579 on Thursday November 17th, 2016 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, (805) 3247711 / www.vnhcsb.org and/or First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara. Dick will be lovingly remembered for his integrity, thoughtfulness, and devotion to his family.