Kelly Jo Badaracco
Kelly Jo Badaracco, 30, of Ojai, died Monday, April 9, 2001 at her home following a brief illness. She was born Nov. 21, 1970 in Erie, Pa., and lived in Ojai for 24 years. She was a clerk for Arc of Ventura County.
She is survived by her father John Badaracco and wife Cathi of Ojai; mother Nancy McMillan and husband David of Ventura; boyfriend Sam Taylor of Oxnard; brother Joseph "Jay" Badaracco of Ventura; grandfather Peter Postas of Eerie, Pa., grandmother Joyce Badaracco of West Springfield, Pa.; three stepbrothers; two stepsisters; and several aunts and uncles.
Miss Badaracco was preceded in death by her sister Traci Badaracco in 1975.
Services will be held Thursday, April 12, at 1 p.m. at the Ojai Valley Community Church, with Pastor Paul Bergmann officiating.
Memorials may be made to the Association for Retarded Citizens or Shriner's Hospital. Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home.
Hope Bridges Baker
Hope Bridges Baker, 86, of Ojai, died Tuesday, April 3, 2001 following a long illness. She was born Nov. 4, 1914 in Weehawken, N.J. to Elizabeth Franklin and Ruel Bridges.
She graduated from Mount St. Mary's on the Hudson Academy in Newburg, N.Y., and then majored in French and Spanish at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., where she was a member of Phi Mu Sorority. She met Charles W. Baker at an Episcopal church youth group in 1933. They married in 1935 and raised their son and daughter in Glendale, a suburb of St. Louis, until 1966.
During World War II, she started a school lunch program at the North Glendale Grade School, was president of the PTA and served nine years as secretary of the Kirkwood School Board. She was also a Girl Scout troop leader, sang in the Grace Episcopal Church choir and was active in Kirkwood Little Theater. From 1952 to 1962, she had a career in retailing as department manager at a large department store. Then she became a "pink lady" at Kirkwood's St. Joseph's Hospital and organized and opened a gift shop there. She was also involved in her church's sponsorship of a Cuban refugee family. With her husband's job change, the next 10 years were spent in Akron and Westerville, Ohio, where the couple hosted foreign students.
Mrs. Baker was an active volunteer in many groups throughout her life. After moving to Ojai in the late '70s, Mrs. Baker helped sponsor a Vietnamese/Chinese refugee family and became a Help of Ojai Hot Line volunteer. In 1982, she became the manager of Help of Ojai's fledgling thrift store on Fox Street. She was also on the R.S.V.P. Advisory Council and volunteered to help with the 1984 Olympic activities at Lake Casitas. From 1995 to 2000, she was coordinator of the Community Assistance Program's Food Pantry, the Hard of Hearing Support Group G.L.A.D., and tutored children in reading at a elementary school. Mrs. Baker also found time to chair or support the many events with her neighbors in the Mira Valle Mobile Home Park.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Charles Baker of Ojai; daughter and son-in-law Susan and Ronald Thompson of Altadena, Calif.; son and daughter-in-law Chuck and Mirka Baker of Ojai, and Policka, Czech Republic; sister Faith Shaffer of Sequim, Wash.; five grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
A private graveside service will be held at Nordhoff Cemetery in Ojai. The family welcomes friends to celebrate her life at a memorial to be held Saturday, April 14, at 2 p.m. at the Mira Valle Mobile Home Park Clubhouse, 1202 Loma Drive, Ojai.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Help of Ojai, P.O. Box 621, Ojai, CA 93024.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.
Henry Lee Self
Henry Lee Self, 77, of Ojai, died Tuesday, April 3, 2001 at Ojai Valley Community Hospital. He was born Dec. 6, 1923 in Arkansas, and lived in Ojai for 13 years. He had been an Oxnard resident from 1975 to 1987.
Mr. Self was retired from the U.S. Army. He was a member of the Old-Time Fiddlers Association and a past member of the Pace Makers Motorcycle Club. His hobbies included fishing, animals and horses, and traveling with his wife.
He is survived by his wife Lavanda G. Self of Ojai; daughter Barbara J. Muska of Ojai; son Wayne L. Self of Kelso, Wash.; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
No formal services will be held.
Memorial contributions may be made to Help of Ojai. Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.
Edna M. Wojnas
M. Wojnas, 80, of Ojai, died Wednesday, April 4, 2001 at her home following a sudden illness. She was born Sept. 12, 1920 in Amsterdam, N.Y., and lived in Ojai for 21 years.
Miss Wojnas was a stockholder manager at General Electric Company for 29 years and a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Ojai.
She is survived by her sister Nellie Wojnas of Ojai; a nephew and several nieces.
Services were held at Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai Tuesday, April 10, at 10 a.m., with Father Michael McFadden, O.S.A., officiating. Interment
followed at Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association. Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home.
Jane Ellen Hammond
Jane Ellen Hammond, 65, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Tuesday, April 20, 2001. She was born Jan. 10, 1936 in Beaton, Ill. She had been a resident of Las Vegas for 16 years, coming from Ojai.
Mrs. Hammond was a homemaker.
She is survived by her husband Wayne Hammond; daughter Julie K. Hammond; son Chris Hammond; mother Janes Suddes; brother Rick Suddes; sister Susan Smith; and two grandchildren.
Private services will be held.
Robert E. Brown
Robert E. Brown, 94, of Ojai, died Tuesday, April 10, 2001, at Ojai Valley Community Hospital of natural causes. He was born Jan. 12, 1907, in Hamilton, Kan., and lived in Ojai for seven years, coming from La Jolla, Calif.
Dr. Brown had been a professor of history at Michigan State University. He was an authority on the history of the U.S. Constitution and was the author of several books on the interpretation of the Constitution.
He is survived by his nieces and nephews in California and Kansas. He was preceded in death by his wife Bessie Katherine Brown in 1980.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.
Susan Potter
(Sue-Dee DeCarlo)
Susan Potter, 48, died Saturday, April 14, 2001, of cancer in Grass Valley. She was born March 21, 1953, in Chicago, Ill.
A former resident of Ojai, she moved to Grass Valley after marrying her husband of eight years, Daniel Potter.
Mrs. Potter is survived by her son John of Chicago; daughter Susan of Upper Ojai; father Robert Hostetter of Pismo Beach; sister Joy Strasser of Sweet Home, Ore.; and brothers Tim and Tom Hostetter.
She was preceded in death by her mother Susan in 1978.
Mrs. Potter worked in the fashion industry, home care and property management. Her interests included fashion design, music, dance, sewing and crafts.
A memorial service was held April 19 at Truth Tabernacle in Marysville, Calif. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Hooper & Weaver Mortuary in Grass Valley, Calif.
Lona Boyd
Lona Boyd, 83, of Oak View, died Tuesday, April 17, 2001, at Ojai Valley Community Hospital. She was born Oct. 5, 1917, in Morewood, Okla., and lived in the Ojai Valley for 41 years, coming from Amarillo, Texas.
Mrs. Boyd was a seamstress and a member of the Old-Time Fiddlers' Association.
She is survived by her sons Don Horn, James Horn and Gary Horn, all of Buellton; son and daughter-in-law Danny and Jeannie Horn of Paso Robles; daughters and sons-in-law Roseann and Michael Marks, and Brinda and Sam Marinis, all of Ojai; sister Skeeter Rust of Los Angeles; brother Jack Kays of Vernon, Texas; brother and sister-in-law Roy and Tootsie Kays of Electra, Texas; 19 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Boyd was preceded in death by her daughter Carolyn Brown in 1980.
Visitation will be at Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai Saturday, April 21, at 10 a.m., with services following at 11 a.m. Pastor Scott Harrell will officiate. Private interment
will be at Santa Paula Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home.
Carol Sidoti
Carol Sidoti, 78, of Ojai, died Sunday, April 15, 2001, at St. John's Medical Center in Oxnard. She was born May 17, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio. She had been a chef for 30 years and worked at the Seafarers Restaurant.
Mrs. Sidoti moved to Ojai in 1980. She spent years working at Little House as a volunteer, and was one of the original Gillespie Girls. In 1993, she was nominated Volunteer of the Year and crowned queen, and she rode on the float in the Fourth of July parade.
Mrs. Sidoti is survived by her daughters Kathleen Ann Villiard of Emmet, Ariz., and Carol Janet Delude of Cypress, Calif.; sons Michael Anthony Sidoti of Claremont, Calif., Timothy Francis Sidoti of Flagstaff, Ariz., Dennis Ralph Sidoti of San Clemente, Calif., William Bryan Sidoti of Lawndale, Calif., Peter Thomas Sidoti of Palmdale, Calif., and Patrick Sidoti of Rimrock Ariz.; brothers Thomas James Catalano of Parma, Ohio, and Anthony Joseph Catalano of Hollywood, Fla.; 24 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held April 17 at Clausen Funeral Home, with Pastor Gregory Sanders officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.
Stana Beth Rogish Brown
Stana Beth Rogish Brown, 92, died Thursday, April 12, 2001, in San Jose, Calif., her home of nearly three years. She was born Jan. 24, 1909, in Pennsylvania and also lived in Cleveland, Ohio.
She lived in Ojai at Mountain Vista Manor and with family from 1993 until July 1998. During her time in Ojai, her family had the opportunity to learn details of her long life and participate in the difficult experience of her passage through Alzheimer's disease.
Mrs. Brown is survived by her daughters WillaBeth Brown of Ojai, and Kelly England of Cupertino, Calif.; sister Patricia Turkall of Florida; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Ernest Brown.
Funeral services are being held today at St. Elija Serbian Orthodox Church with burial following at Woodlawn Cemetery, both in Aliquippa, Pa.
Arrangements are under the direction of Darroch's Memorial Chapel in Aliquippa.
Edna Gale West
Edna Gale West, 84, of Ojai, died Monday, April 9, 2001. She was born Feb. 14, 1917 in Hugo, Okla., and lived in Ojai for 36 years.
During World War II, she was in the first Women's Baseball League. She was also a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader and a den mother. Mrs. West was a club champion at both the Montalvo Golf Course and Ojai's Soule Park Golf Course. She and her husband were the owners of the Locker Market in Ojai for 20 years before passing it on to their son Wayne and grandson David.
Mrs. West is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Wayne and Jana West of Ojai; daughter and son-in-law Sharon and Rick Abare of Ojai; twin brother Dale "Buck" Gilmore of Mission Hills; brother Shay Gilmore of Tahoe; sister Marguerite Kimble of Riverside; four grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Lowell "Rookie" West.
No formal services will be held. Arrangements are under the direction of the Neptune Society.
Ram Pravesh "R.P." Singh
Ram Pravesh "R.P." Singh, 80, of Thousand Oaks, died Sunday, April 15, 2001 at Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He had recently suffered a series of strokes. He was born Jan. 4, 1921 in India, and was a longtime Ojai resident and business manager and companion to Beatrice Wood, shown in the photo below.
Mr. Singh met "Beato" when she made a trip to India for a tour of her pottery as a cultural ambassador for the United States. Singh was working as a diplomat for the U.S. information service in Delhi, and became her official escort throughout the tour. Thus began an enduring personal and professional relationship.
Before coming to California in the early 1970s, Mr. Singh had a career as a lawyer and dignitary in India where he married and had a family.
He is survived by a daughter, son, daughter-in-law and five grandchildren. His son Lallan Singh resides with his family in Thousand Oaks, where Mr. Singh resided after retiring in 1998.
Services will be held Thursday, April 19, at 10 a.m. at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home, 3150 Loma Vista Road in Ventura. Friends are invited to share a brief memory during the service.
For more information, call Pierce Brothers at 495-0837 or Nanci Martinez in Ojai at 640-1453.
