Mother, Pomona College alum, volunteer

Longtime Claremont resident and Pomona College alumni Barbara S. Kittell died November 13, 2017 at the age of 98.

Mrs. Kittell was born on February 28, 1919 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles to John and Lucille Sutherland. During her early years she lived on a ranch in Orange County, surrounded by orange groves and farms.

She entered Claremont’s Pomona College in 1936, and graduated in 1940. After graduation she worked for several years in the Pomona area. On April 1, 1942 she married classmate Warren Kittell at Pomona College’s Bridges Hall of Music, aka Little Bridges.

In 1943 Mr. Kittell was drafted into the US Army, and his new bride accompanied him to his various postings, always taking jobs nearby. The couple both worked for a number of years at Arlington Hall in Virginia.

After the war, her husband was stationed in Japan for a year, so Mrs. Kittell returned to Claremont and worked at Claremont Graduate School.

The couple had two sons, Tim and Steve. Mrs. Kittell was a stay at home mom and was active in her church, her sons’ schools, and was a founding member of Children’s Home Society Auxiliary, Claremont.

The Kittells were very involved in real estate, travelled extensively and were active in several local charities, most notably Pomona’s Casa Colina and Boy’s Republic School in Chino, California. In 1988, the couple moved into Pomona’s Mount San Antonio Gardens, where they continued their volunteer activities.

Mrs. Kittell has donated her body to Loma Linda University’s Bodies for Science Program in Loma Linda, California. She will later be interred at Claremont’s Oak Park Cemetery.

She was predeceased in 2010 by her husband, Warren Kittell, and is survived by her two sons, Tim and Steve Kittell, and her daughter-in-law, Ella Kittell.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests a donation in Mrs. Kittell’s name to VNA Hospice of Southern California at vnasocal.org/donate-to-vna, or by check to 555 N. Benson Ave., Suite D, Upland, CA 91786.