Category Archives: Obituary

Joe Henry Ellis (1932-2016)

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Joe Henry Ellis — Ventura, CA

Joe Henry Ellis, beloved father and husband, shuffled off his mortal coil on January 24th, 2016 after a long illness.

Joe Henry was an extraordinary man. We who loved him remember camping trips, his love of the outdoors, Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, deep and inspirational conversations, and an incredible personal presence he conveyed to all who knew him.

Joe was born in Arkansas, one of five siblings, to Henry and Alta Vay Ellis. His family moved to Texas and then to California, finally settling in Trona where he spent his high school years. He joined the Navy in 1951 and served in the Korean War. It was during that time that he went on a blind date and met the love of his life, Patricia Louise Bates, who was in nursing school at the time. They marred and settled in Ventura, the home of Patricia’s family for generations. Joe took on several jobs to support his wife and growing family as he finished his education to become a teacher. (1) After Joe earned his teaching credential and graduate degree he got a job at Ventura High School where he taught for 31 years in the history department. During this time he was active in Sacred Heart Parish, took up golf and dragged his growing family across every campground in the western United States and to his cherished Lake Tahoe.

Joe pursued two major passions throughout his life; his family and his teaching. He will be remembered by generations of students as a compassionate and enthusiastic educator who encouraged his students to succeed. He had a knack for finding their strengths but it was his caring attitude that brought many of them back to visit him at school and at his home. Towards the end of his illness while at a local hospital, a nurse caring for him shared that he was the only teacher who reached out to her and told her she had the potential to go to college.

During his retirement Joe and Patricia were fortunate to travel to many exotic places around the world. They sail around the Horn and cruised Alaska, pet koalas in Australia and drank wine throughout Western Europe.

Joe is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Patricia; His three daughters Kathleen (Gary Stanley); Elizabeth (Thomas Letus); Margaret (Joseph Sofer) ; his son Joseph, grandchildren Richard, Anita, Jennifer, John, and Mary; and six great-grandchildren. The unconditional love he showed all of us will be greatly missed but we know that it is only a short time before we meet him again. “We’re glad you made it to the top of the mountain, Dad. We’ll see you there someday.”

A celebration of his life will be held at Sacred Heart Church on Tuesday, February 9th at ten o’clock am.

In lieu flowers donation may be made in Joe’s memory to Ventura High School. The Joe Ellis Scholarship Fund.

  1. Joe & Patty settled first in Ontario after they were married.  He attended Chaffey College, then he transferred to UCR.  He worked nights at Lockheed Ontario After being laid-off moved his family to Ventura.  He finished his BA and MA in history at UCSB.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/joe-ellis-obituary?pid=177525705

Ralph Edward Martin – Class of 1964

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Ralph Edward Martin, age 69 of Lexington, passed away following a long battle with lung cancer, Thursday, October 15, 2015 at his home. Ralph Edward Martin was born September 22, 1946 in Broken Bow, OK, the only son of John Lewis Martin and Edith Viola (Claunch) Martin. He spent his early years in the Criner and Dibble area before moving to Trona, CA. He attended Trona Unified Schools, graduating from Trona High School in 1965. While in high school he was in ROTC and was in a Chess Club. Ralph joined the United States Army in 1969, and was proud to serve his country. After being honorably discharged for medical reasons, Ralph married his best friend and love of his life, Ms. Kathy Giraud. They were married on April 10, 1971 in Las Vegas, NV. Together they raised two children, son Shad and daughter, Sarah. Ralph first worked installing water and sewer lines for a few years. Then he began working for Midwest Communications building teletypes and selling contracts. In 1974 he took a job with Teletype Corporation in OKC. After several years with this company, Teletype merged with AT&T and he was transferred to Albuquerque, NM in 1982. Because of his physical battles, Ralph returned to Oklahoma in 2012 to be close to his mother. Throughout his life, Ralph loved being in the outdoors, he enjoyed elk hunting at Mt. Taylor, NM and camping and fishing with his family and friends. More recently he and Kathy would take meaningful daytrips all over Oklahoma enjoying new scenery. Ralph will be remembered as a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He will be dearly missed!

He was preceded in death by: His parents, John Martin and mother, Vi Martin in May of this year. Ralph is survived by: His wife, Kathy of the home; Son, Shad Martin of Albuquerque, NM; Daughter, Sarah Martin and husband Brenden Patterson of Beaverton, OR; Grandson, Eli Patterson and A host of other family and friends.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service is scheduled for 2:00 P.M. Thursday, October 22, 2015 at Wilson-Little Funeral Home Chapel in Purcell, OK. Another memorial service will be held at a later date in Albuquerque, NM. Interment will be at Hillside Cemetery in Purcell, OK. Send online condolences @ wilsonlittle.com. In lieu of flowers the family request that you send memorials to the American Lung Association, 55 W. Wacker Drive Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60601.

Roberta “Robi” (Wilson) Reece – Class of 1958

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Roberta “Robi” Reece
Apr. 2, 1940 – Oct. 2, 2015
San Jose, formerly of San Juan Bautista
Friends are invited to join family for a Celebration of Robi’s Life at South Valley Community Church, 8095 Kelton Dr., Gilroy on October 24, 2015, at 11:00am.
Robi was born in Trona, CA and moved to the Bay Area in the early 1960’s to begin her family. She spent 35 years residing in San Juan Bautista, where she was a teacher’s aide at San Juan School and later became the receptionist at SVCC Church in Gilroy for 20 years.
Robi is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Dean and Gina Reece and her grandchildren, Emily and Jacob all of Aurora, Oregon. She is also survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Dee Ann and Michael Harn and her grandchildren, Mikaela and Kylee all of San Jose, California.
Robi loved life! In her memory, if you wish, the family requests donations be made to the , SVCC, or your local Christian School. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mercurynews/obituary.aspx?pid=176031090#sthash.16kT6WKX.dpuf

Lois Knight Leonardi

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Lois Knight Leonardi
Oct. 22, 1925 – Oct. 15, 2015

Lois Leonardi, 89, passed away in Redlands on October 15. She is survived by her children Andrea, Katherine and Frank, her brothers Bob and Paul, 10 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.

A graduate of the University of Redlands, Lois was a retired school teacher, talented pianist, traveler and adventurer. She lived in the USA, Germany, Mexico, Peru and Iran and had many fascinating stories about her travels to Asia, Europe, UK, the Middle East, Australia, North America and South America. An avid photographer of people and landscapes, she was rarely without her camera and leaves behind a legacy of photographs spanning her lifetime.

She taught elementary school in Trona from 1950 to 1959.  She is mourned  by many former Trona elementary students who fondly remember her.

miss knight

Beth (McCullar) Morris – Class of 1957

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Beth Morris was born in Mountain Park, Oklahoma, on September 28, 1939, and passed away in Bakersfield, California, on August 23, 2015. She graduated from Trona High School in 1957. She is survived by her brother, Benny McCullar – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bakersfield/obituary.aspx?n=laveta-morris-beth&pid=177194077&#sthash.stEfQ2KQ.dpuf

Douglas W Stewart — Class of 1957

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Douglas William Stewart, 75, passed away peacefully on April 12, 2015 with his family beside him.

He was born August 24, 1939 in Los Angeles, CA and grew up in a small Mojave Desert town called Trona. Doug played baseball with his friends despite the 100+ degree heat and ate salt tablets like candy. After graduating from THS in 1957, he went to San Francisco State University to study English.

From 1963-1965 he served in the Army, mostly at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was a clerk. He was also a crack shot and was on the target shooting team.

After moving to Nevada he worked at various jobs, including as a Keno writer and a craps dealer at Harrah’s Club, while also attending the University of Nevada, Reno. There he met and, in 1969, married Caroline Bowdish. He received his B.A. in English in 1974, and moved to Pasco with Caroline. Doug earned a teaching credential from Walla Walla College, but only taught part-time. He became a Letter Carrier in 1977 and remained with the Postal Service until his retirement in 2002. Doug and Caroline had two sons, Colin, born in 1978, and Cameron, in 1982. Although they divorced in 1986, both of them remained involved in bringing up their sons.

From an early age Doug loved the out-of-doors, motorcycle riding, and fishing. He was a lifetime member of both the Sierra Club and the NRA. He collected books and read so widely that he seemed to know about everything.

Doug is survived by his sons, Colin Stewart of Kirkland, WA and Cameron Stewart of Pasco, and his former wife, Caroline Bowdish (Stewart) of Pasco.

A celebration of Doug’s life will be held on June 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Richland Community Center. Contributions in his honor can be made to the Sierra Club Foundation (SierraClubFoundation.org) or to the Nature Conservancy (WashingtonNature.org).

Published in Tri-City Herald on May 22, 2015

Ronald Dill – Class of 1961

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Ronald Douglas Dill died Saturday, April 18 at Ridgecrest Healthcare Center. He was 72.

Ronald was born Sept. 16, 1942, in Pontiac Mich. He joined the U.S. Army in 1961 after graduating from Trona High School and served in the Army for eight years. In 1976 he and his wife, Angela, moved to Trona, where he worked as a heavy equipment operator for International Minerals and Chemical from 1978 to 2004 when he retired.

http://www.news-ridgecrest.com/news/story.pl?id=0000003918

Roberta (Otto) Buckley – Class of 1958

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Word of Roberta Otto’s death came to me by way of Linda Cunningham who saw Suzanne Walker’s message about it on Facebook.

Roberta’s Celebration of Life service will be Saturday, December 6th at 11:00am at The United Methodist Church of Vista located at 490 South Melrose Drive, Vista, CA 92081. A reception at the church will follow.

It is being requested in lieu of flowers to please make a donation on behalf of Roberta L. Buckley to:

Arthritis Foundation – Greater San Diego Office
8555 Aero Drive, Suite 200
San Diego, CA  92123

Jolene (Swearingen) Ankers – Class of 1956

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Jolene Ankers

November 14, 1938 – September 20, 2014

Jolene Ankers passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on Saturday, September 20th, 2014.

Born in Trona, California on November 14th, 1938, Jolene was the first born child to Neal and Coila Swearingen, and later a sister, Susan. Jolene attended the University of Nevada from 1956 through 1962, getting married and having two daughters during this time. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education. She was a teacher in Washoe County for 28 years. During retirement, Jolene enjoyed traveling the country.

Jolene is survived by her husband, Richard Ankers, her daughters, Karyn and Krystin, her grandchildren, Jessyca, Kelcie, Kyle and Kenna, her great-grandchildren, Avery and Greyson, and her dogs, Yogi and Manley.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 11th, 2014, at The Coney Island Bar and Grill at 2:00pm. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rgj/obituary.aspx?pid=172578431#sthash.zEfotJig.dpuf

Jolene Swearingen

Howard Vassar – Obituary

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Howard Vassar, 77, of Polson, Montana and formerly of Trona, California, passed away June 6, 2014 at his home after a long battle with cancer.

Howard was born on September 24, 1936 in Amarillo, Texas to William and Willie Vassar. He grew up in southern California between Trona and Bishop. He worked for his dad sacking salt and driving trucks until he was drafted into the Army serving in the 101st Airborne, Screaming Eagles.

On September 11th, 1961, he married Deanna Marie Garner, settling in Trona building a family and a successful equipment contracting business until he retired 1982 and they moved to Polson, Montana.
Howard helped build and sponsor little league football in Trona, as well as sponsoring the high school football team. He was one of the founders of the first motorcycle clubs in southern California-The Sidewinders.

Howard enjoyed many outdoor activities; such as, motorcycling, dune buggies, water skiing, horseback riding, rodeos, roping, hunting and fishing. His one true passion that he developed over his life time was the love of trap shooting. He won the prestigious Butte Rod & Gun Club Medal in 1999 and attended the ATA World Championship in Vandalia, Ohio with his team mates in 2003. In his career he shot 84, 125 single targets, 93, 800 handicap targets and 65, 250 doubles targets for a grand total of 243, 275 registered targets since 1988.

He is preceded in death by his father William Charles Vassar, mother Willie Lee Vassar, step-father Clifford C. Jones; sisters Margie Conrad and Juanita Vassar and his brothers Edward and Bobby Vassar.
He is survived by his wife Deanna Vassar; children Renee Morgan (Larry Morgan), Radean Vassar (Ryan Boden), Howard ‘Howdy’ Vassar (Debbie Sargent-Vassar) and Tina Vassar-Buser (Mike Buser); seven grandchildren Chad Morgan, Jill (Morgan) Marlow, Aaron Morgan, Christopher Vassar, Caitlyn Vassar, Amber Caraway and Rainee Vassar; eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Howard is also survived by his brother John Vassar and numerous nieces and nephews that he loved dearly.

A celebration of his life will be held Friday, June 13th at 11:00 am at Grogan Funeral Home and Crematory. Burial will follow at Lakeview Cemetery. – See more at: http://www.groganfuneralhome.com/obituary/William-Howard-Vassar/Polson-MT/1389301#sthash.oMOw5QxW.dpuf