Claremont Obituaries
Minister, teacher, counselor, author Ken Dale, long-time missionary, teacher, counselor, writer, and beloved friend, died September 8 at the age of 99. By some markings, Ken had entered into his 100th year, and for that he was quite proud. Born in the farmland of Nebraska, “Ken’s life was marked by a quiet strength and a […]
Longtime APU employee, loving mother, grandmother, woman of faith Elaine Charlotte Gardner Baugus died peacefully in hospice care on February 23 with family by her side. She was 91. Born on May 1, 1928 in Pasadena, Elaine was the firstborn of a Nazarene minister, Dr. J. Russell Gardner, and his wife Marion. In her formative […]
Rosario “Chayo” Gass was born at home in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico on September 27, 1926, and died at home in Claremont, on February 8. As a young woman, she enjoyed her family and friends in Mazatlán and built relationships that lasted her lifetime. She was sent to boarding school in San Diego to learn English […]
Robert Reynolds died peacefully in hospice care on February 12 in San Luis Obispo County after a brief battle with brain cancer. He was 68 years old. Born in 1951 to the late Walter and Elsie Reynolds, Bob’s younger years were spent growing up in the Reynolds family’s 12th Street Claremont home. After graduating from Claremont High School in 1969, he enlisted in the US Army and […]
Lucy Amneus died February 11 at her home in Claremont of complications from a stroke. She was 89. Lucy was born in 1930 in South Bend, Indiana to Robert and Lucille Nall and lived there until she left for college. In 1952 she graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English literature and history. […]
Esteemed Pomona College professor of biology, violinist, husband, father Jonathan C. Wright, the William A. Hilton Zoology Professor and Professor of Biology, and former Associate Dean at Pomona College, sustained a major heart attack and died at his home in Claremont on December 16, 2019. Jonathan, a Claremont resident for 22 years, was born in […]
Trailblazing female Presbyterian minister, tireless volunteer The Rev. Barbara M. Stout died February 15 in Claremont, after a long illness. She was born Barbara Ann Mullen in 1926 in Los Angeles, to Calvin Mullen and Dorothy Reynolds Mullen. She grew up during the Depression, learning the value of thrift. Both her parents were schoolteachers. Barbara, […]
Alice Marie Flores died February 13 at her home in Montclair, surrounded by her family. She was born on February 27, 1934 in Watalula, Arkansas to German Methodist father Charles Nathaniel Mitten of Oklahoma and immigrant Mexican Catholic mother Maria Dolores de la Torre of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Alice grew up in Fontana, and graduated from […]
Longtime Claremont resident, former Country Classics owner Longtime Claremont resident Dorothy Isobel Lacy died peacefully in her sleep at home on Friday evening, December 27, 2019. She was 91. She was born Dorothy Eblett in Tynemouth, England on March 12, 1928. She met her husband to be, Garry Lacy, while they both worked in the […]
Longtime ARCO executive, Claraboya board member Harry Cornelius Battin, Jr., 88, of Owings Mills, Maryland, died February at his home. Born May 10, 1931, in Pittsburgh, he was the son of Harry Cornelius, Sr., and Dorothy May Battin. He was the beloved husband of the late Rachael Barbara Battin, who died in 2004. Harry grew […]
Alice Flores Alice Marie Flores, renowned Padua Hills Mexican Player who performed at the Historic Padua Hills Theater in Claremont, died February 13. Services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, February 21 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 10191 Central Ave., Montclair. A full account of her life will appear in a future […]
Longtime Claremonter, preservationist, activist, kindergarten teacher, volunteer Longtime Claremont resident and activist Barbara Fowler died peacefully in hospice care Tuesday, January 28 in Shreveport, Louisiana, surrounded by family. She was 89. Born in 1930 in Glendale, California to Loren and Lois Blakeley, Barbara was raised in Santa Ana. She spent summers on her grandparents’ apricot […]
Beloved grandmother, life member of Assistance League, tireless volunteer Valerie Ault Romero died January 8 at age 84, with family at her side and her grandchildren singing to her. Val was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1935, and moved to California as a toddler with her parents LaVerta and Robert Ault, and her siblings, […]
Nature enthusiast, loving mother, lifetime Claremont resident Sydney Jean Hill, a lifetime resident of Claremont, died Friday, November 29, after a long battle with cancer. She was 51. Sydney was born April 1, 1968 at Pomona Valley Hospital. She is the youngest of three children born to Mike and Bobbie Hill, longtime Claremont residents. Sydney […]
Father, Quaker, Pilgrim, gardener, longtime CHAP volunteer Pete J. Nelson died peacefully on January 1, 2020, cradled by his wife, Judith Favor. He had refused food since fracturing his spine on December 20. Under the care of VNA Hospice and Palliative Care of Southern California, “Pete grasped death with tenacious fortitude after having suffered the […]
Teacher, tireless volunteer, Claremont Honored Citizen Rita Wodinsky died December 23, 2019, at the age of 94 and-a-half, in her home, with her family by her side. Born in Jamaica, New York on June 8, 1925, to Joseph and Bessie Bernstein, Rita graduated from Jamaica High School in 1940, and earned a bachelor’s degree from […]
Noted Claremont artist Chris Darrow died Wednesday, January 15 of complications from a stroke. He was 75. A much beloved figure in Claremont, he was a renowned musician, songwriter, photographer, record producer and artist, who in 1966 co-founded the groundbreaking group Kaleidoscope with Claremonter David Lindley. He later went on to play with the Nitty […]