obituaries
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Carl Lee Reece
08/27/44-06/16/17
Carl Lee Reece passed away peacefully the early morning of June 16, 2017, at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, California. Born August 27, 1944 in Concordia, Kansas, he was son of Jack and Alice Belle Reece. He grew up in Scandia, Kansas, where he created fond memories with friends and family. He married Gloria Lamia, August 20, 1967 in Ellsworth, Kansas.
Carl received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Hays University in Hays, Kansas. He worked for Baxter Laboratories for two years, then, to fulfill his desire to teach business education, he left the world of business to accept a teaching position at Porterville High School in Porterville, California. As Department Chairperson, he was instrumental in the creation of the Porterville Academy of Business and especially enjoyed teaching the entrepreneurial program and accounting. He was known as a go-getter, who always thought of his students first! He also coached golf, basketball and football. In 2004, he retired and moved to Santa Barbara, California where he enjoyed bicycling in the mountains, ocean kayaking, and he was the treasure for his HOA. Carl’s quick wit and sense of humor brightened the lives of family and friends. His clever comments are remembered and always stir-up laughter. Carl is survived by two sisters, Linda and Sue and their respective families in Scandia, Kansas and his life partner, Gloria Reece of Santa Barbara, California. A private family service will be held to celebrate Carl’s life. Donations in Carl’s memory can be made to Porterville High School with the Memo: “Carl Reece Scholarship Fund.” Gloria will forward or checks can be sent directly to Porterville High School. Gloria Reece, 355 Por La Mar Circle, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. A special thanks to Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care as well as Serenity House staff for Carl’s excellent care and a peaceful journey.
Carol Victoria Dell 04/16/46-06/10/17
Carol Victoria Dell, 71, died June 10 at her home after a long illness.
She was born April 16, 1946 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Her family emigrated to South Africa in 1947. Carol attended Redhill School in Johannesburg, then worked briefly at a diamond mine before her family moved to Santa Barbara in 1965. In Santa Barbara, she worked at the News-Press; the criminalistics division of the Sheriff ’s Office; 18
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the law firm of Schweitzer, Dorrance & Associates; and the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program with Santa Barbara County Schools. She retired in 2008. Her parents, L. John Fry and Joan Fry, were active with the Santa Barbara Lawn Bowls Club. L. John Fry was a self taught engineer, inventor and author, and Joan Fry was office manager of Direct Relief Foundation in the 1970s. Carol and John Dell were married on Valentine’s Day, 1968. Carol loved flowers, and planted many rosebushes and other flora in her garden on the upper Westside. The couple, and later entire family, traveled widely, enjoying gardens, old friends, and extended family. Survivors include her husband, John Dell; two sons, Graham Dell of Santa Barbara and Peter Dell, M.D., of Culver City; three grandsons, Evan, Travis and Zack Dell, all of Santa Barbara; two sisters, Wendy Gallagher of California Valley, and Merle Fry of Los Osos; a nephew, John Gallagher of Portland, Oregon, currently in Kenya; two nieces, Leanne Gallagher Hawthorne of Santa Barbara, and Cheryl Mendibles of Los Osos; three great-nieces, Heather and Katy Hawthorne, both of Santa Barbara, and Lucy Gallagher; and four greatnephews, Raymond Hawthorne of Santa Barbara, Lamar Cordes Mendibles of Los Osos; Max Gallagher and Damien Daugherty of Portland, Oregon, along with French, English, and American cousins. Carol is also survived by her two Siberian Huskies, Isis and Zia, who miss her comforting touch and latenight snacks. A private memorial celebration is scheduled June 30, which would have been Carol’s father’s 100th birthday. In lieu of flowers, friends may remember VNA/Hospice Care, 512 E. Gutierrez St., SB 93103.
Earl Gordon Holder 08/14/39-06/15/17
Woodrow and Zada Holder, father and mother-in-law Bill and Cloeta Raley, wife Harriet Kay Holder (beloved bride of 48 years and mother of their four children), brother-in-law Winn Johnson and nephew Wynn Johnson and motherin-law Mariana Giambo. He is survived by cherished wife of 6 years, Joanne Rubenstein Holder and family, brothers: Glen and family, Woodrow Jr. and family, Pete and family, and sister Mary Ann Holder Johnson and family, sister-in-law Joyce Tucker and family, brother-in-law Sam Tucker (Debbie) and family, and sons: Rodney, Timothy (Terri), Todd, and daughter Laurice (Dean), and grandchildren: Rodney, Kayla (Samuel), Christopher, Trevor, Travis, Blake (Lexi), Tanner, Alanna, Amanda, Cody, Dylan and great grandchildren: Trey, Elna, Rebekah, Selma, Anton, and many other beloved relatives. Earl left an indelible imprint in every life he encountered. Whether he moved you with laughter or fueled you with fire, tagged you with an “Earlism”, got the better of you in a wager like “liars poker”, bloodied your knuckles in a friendly game of “spoons”, or paid you “doubleor-nothing”, He will be greatly missed by all. He will be remembered forever as a profound presence, “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (ESV) We would like to express our gratitude to all the staff of The Oak Cottage of Santa Barbara for the loving and gracious care they have given Earl, as well as all the staff of Assisted Hospice of Santa Barbara for tenderly journeying with Earl through his final days. Viewing will be at Ted Mayr Funeral Home of Ventura - Saturday, June 24th from 2:00-5:00pm Memorial Service will be at Ted Mayr Funeral Home of Ventura - Sunday, June 25th from 1:00-2:30pm In lieu of flowers, please make donations to: Cure Alzheimer's Fund, 34 Washington St., Suite 200, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481 781-237-3800; http://curealz.org / donate@curealz.org (100% of donation goes directly to research) Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home, 3150 Loma Vista Road, Ventura. Condolences may be sent to TedMayrFuneralHome.com.
Dixon Engineering and Surveying. In 1991 Jim and Roz divorced and Jim continued his Engineering business in Lompoc. In 1994 Jim met Shelly Ellis, a single mother with two daughters, Joelle and Hayley. Jim proposed at YMCA family camp and they married in 1995. Jim’s love of nature took the two on many great adventures. Their favorite thing to do was to sip a good cup of cof coffee while watching a beautiful sunrise. In 1998 Aaron and Ian started “Dixon Bros Racing”, with Jim as the Crew Chief. “Dixon Bros Racing” won multiple championships over 10 years. Jim and Shelly loved the YMCA, attending Family Camp many years with the girls. In 1999 he was asked to join the Lompoc YMCA Board and then in 2008 he joined the Channel Island Association Board. Jim was an accomplished craftsman and remodeled their Santa Barbara home on his own. He was a member of the Santa Barbara 4WD club. His yellow bronco was a site to be seen (and heard!). Jim was a good man who will be missed by many. Jim is survived by his wife, Shelly Dixon; his son Aaron and wife Marcy Dixon; his son Ian Dixon, and wife Beth Dixon; his grandchildren, Madison, Noah, Conner, Phoebe, Dagny and Beau Dixon; his step-daughter, Joelle Kantor; his step-daughter Hayley Laird and husband Philip Laird; his sister Mary Dixon; and his nephews Derek Acker and Dustin Acker. He is predeceased by his parents, Richard and Eveleen Dixon. Jim’s memorial service will be Saturday, June 24 at 1pm at Unity Church 227 E Arrellaga St, Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Lompoc Family YMCA’s Summer Camp program in Jim’s name. Donations can be made online at www. giveciymca.org (choose the Lompoc branch) or by sending a donation to the Lompoc Family YMCA, 201 W. College Ave, Lompoc 93436.
Shirley L. Hill 09/01/43-05/29/17
James (Jim) Dixon We celebrate the life of Earl Gordon Holder as a man of profound impact on all who knew him. After a long battle with Alzheimer’s and an aggressive brain tumor, Earl has peacefully transitioned from earthly life to life eternal. Earl was born to Woodrow Wilson Holder and Zada Othella Cantrell Holder in Paden, Oklahoma. At a young age he and his family moved to Tehachapi, California where the foundation of his larger than life work ethic was born. As a young field worker, Earl learned the discipline of rising early to accomplish a days work that several years later contributed to his establishing a prominent crane and trucking company in Southern California. Established in 1969, Offshore Crane & Service Company (DBA: T & T Truck & Crane Service) has become a valued business entity in Ventura and Kern Counties. Earl’s life passion was building his business and having it stand out as a cut above in every regard. Earl also enjoyed various hobbies throughout his life: golfing, fishing, gambling, horseback riding, bird watching, hunting, motor cycling, gardening, and touring the countryside just to name a few. He was a lover of nature and proudly boasted of living in “God’s Country”. In each of his areas of interest, he took the same larger-than-life approach and will be remembered for giving his all in all he did. Earl is preceded in death by: parents
June 22, 2017
independent.com
02/22/48-06/10/17
James (Jim) Dixon, 69, passed away Saturday, June 10th peacefully at home with his wife, Shelly by his side after a two-year journey with Esophageal Cancer. Born on February 22, 1948 in La Jolla, CA, Jim grew up in Fallbrook, CA. He and his sister, Mary grew up without a TV listening to their father read after dinner. Jim attended Humboldt State earning a degree in Civil Engineering. He met and married Rosalind Jackson of Miranda, CA. Married in 1970, Jim joined the City of Santa Rosa Engineering Department, and soon after Aaron and Ian were born. Jim then accepted a position as Associate City Engineer for Lompoc. He quickly moved to City Engineer then Director of Public Works. In 1984 Jim started his own business: JB
After a long battle with breast cancer, Shirley L. Hill, age 73, passed peacefully at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara at 12:20 p. m. on May 29, 2017. She was attended by her husband Harold Hill of 53 years, and her sons Jeffrey (45), Russell (38) and Nathan (35). Shirley was born in Madera, California to Roberta and Uless “Buck” Barnes of Chowchilla at nearby Madera Hospital. Shirley grew up mostly in the San Joaquin Valley with her younger sister Debra. She attended Chowchilla High School and went to California State University, Fresno (CSUF) to pursue a degree and a teaching credential. At CSUF Shirley earned a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education. During that time she met and married Harold. After graduating and earning a teaching credential, she began her career teaching at Dry Creek Elementary School in Clovis, California. Jeffrey lives in Burbank with his friend Heidi Kungl and works as an independent sales representative for Ground Up Builders who specialize in home improvements and energy upgrades. Jeffery married Veronica Encarnacion and they had two children, Gianna (13) and Niko (12) before they were divorced.
Russell lives in Redlands, California with his wife Maegan and their two boys Jacob (10) and Evan (8). Russell is a licensed electrician and works as a supervisor for Quickwire. Nathan lives in Sonora, California. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in Aviation Technology from San Joaquin Valley College and worked for Sky West Airlines for many years. His wife Tara is the supervising operating room nurse at Sonora Regional Medical Center. They have two sons Nathan and Jaxon. Shirley and Harold lived in Fresno from 1966 to 1976. Then they moved to Merced where Shirley was a teacher at Winton Elementary School until they moved to Porterville in 1985. In Porterville, she taught at Oak Grove Elementary School until 2003 when they moved to Santa Barbara. Shirley really enjoyed taking her children places for fun and education. She arranged for her sons Russell and Nathan to take keyboard lessons weekly in Visalia for many years. Among her greatest delights was spending time with her grandchildren and taking them special places. When her children were faced with challenges and frustrations she provided solutions in a gentle and effective way that ended with laughter. When she retired travel became Shirley’s hobby. She traveled to many parts of the world including Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, China, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica and a majority of the countries in Europe. Her last trip was to South Dakota in 2016 where she saw Mount Rushmore and many other tourist attractions. Shirley was a kind, caring, and industrious person dedicated to making life better for her family and her students. She spent thousands of hours of donated time at home preparing lessons that would assure that her students had individual attention and the best education she could give them. In addition she spent many thousands of dollars buying educational materials for her classroom to provide her students with the best materials she could find to supplement and bolster their opportunity for an excellent education. Shirley was an inspiration to her husband, her three sons, her grandchildren, her friends and the hundreds of students that she taught. She will be deeply missed but her gentle loving presence will forever live in our memories. Shirley is survived by her husband, three sons and her sister Debra Mengel of Pahrump, Nevada. There will be a celebration of Shirley’s life in the sanctuary at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 820 N. Fairview Ave., Goleta, California in July. For more information contact Harold Hill at haroldhill770@hotmail. com or (559) 288-1180. In lieu of flowers, or to honor Shirley, her family asks that you donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 60 E. 56th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
Eric Duane Schulenberg 11/06/54-06/25/09
Every day we think of you and miss you. We see you everywhere in the beauty of nature, the mountains and the ocean that you loved. We take comfort in knowing you are in heaven-free of pain and worry. Aloha nui loa, my brother. Sarah and family
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