Claremont Obituaries
Great-grandmother, social justice warrior, writer, lifelong learner “Bands were playing in the streets of New York City on the day Barbara was born. It was an Election Day — November 6, 1922,” her family shared. On September 25, Barbara died peacefully at her home in Claremont. She was just six weeks shy of her 103rd […]
Buddhist, minister, sculptor, musician, teacher, journalist, gardener Former Claremont resident Jeanne Variell Stott Chippendale died August 25 at the age of 94. Jeanne was born March 9, 1925 in Golden, Colorado to Helen Variell Cole and Charles Edwin Stott. Prior to her mother’s death from tuberculosis when she was four, she was sent to live […]
Beloved matriarch, mother of nine, devout Catholic, minister, dancer Ellen Catherine Carlson died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Claremont on August 25. The daughter of the late James J. and Evelyn McQuaid, Ellen was born March 3, 1932, in Los Angeles. She grew up in Glendale, attended Bellarmine-Jefferson grade school and high […]
Esteemed Pomona College professor, professional soprano vocalist Gwendolyn Lytle, who led a distinguished career as a vocal soloist and college professor at the University of California, Riverside and Pomona College, died August 22 in Claremont, after a courageous battle with liver cancer. She was 74. Beloved sister, aunt, colleague, teacher and friend, her life was […]
Artist, dancer, teacher, loving mother Longtime resident of Claremont Katie Selke died at home July 12, surrounded by her family. Born during the Depression in rural Texas, she lived through the howling windstorms of the Dust Bowl era. In her teen years she moved with her father and paternal grandmother to Lubbock, Texas. Some of […]
Trailblazing female politician, college dean, art lover Kay Sandra Ceniceros, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, public servant and friend, died July 26 at the age of 81 from Alzheimer’s disease. Born to Ross and Eunice McPherson in 1938, Kay and her family moved to Long Beach from Los Angeles at the beginning of World War […]
Father of 10, devout Catholic, private investigator, semi-pro baseball star Eldon Sanford O’Brien died August 17 at age 93. He was born November 13, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, and grew up in San Jose, California. He graduated from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose and from the University of Notre Dame in 1948. He married Catherine […]
Music teacher, longtime Claremonter Thomas Murie, a 47-year resident of Claremont and longtime San Marino schools band director and music teacher, died in October 2018 at the age of 85. He led the music programs at the San Marino elementary schools and Huntington Intermediate School, where he met his wife Kathlyn Murie, who taught English […]
College professor, author, activist Catherine Cameron died peacefully on July 26 at Mt. San Antonio Gardens health center, with her family at her side and aided by hospice. Previously, she and her husband had lived at the Gardens for 19 wonderful years, marked by achievements, enjoyment and friendships. In 2005 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s […]
On Friday, 2019, Ruby Richardson, loving wife and mother of three children, died June 28 at age 92. Ruby was born on May 9, 1927 in Belleville, Arkansas, to Dewey and Verna Lampkin. She married Boone Richardson on June 5, 1955 in Little Rock. The couple lived in Auburn, Alabama and Annandale, Virginia, and spent […]
Travel agency owner, crafter, Dodger fan, loving grandmother Lynn Louise Ross, age 76, died Sunday, August 4, in San Antonio, Texas. She was born June 3, 1943 in New Orleans, Louisiana to James Knox Dysart and Mary Lou Dysart (Unger). She spent most of her life near Claremont, where she owned and operated her own […]
Centenarian, great-grandmother, longtime music instructor, volunteer, traveler Vera McIlwaine Laughton died May 29 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, after living to be more than 100 years old. She was born in Toronto, Canada on October 5, 1918. Vera and her five siblings moved to Los Angeles with their parents George and Sofia McIlwaine, arriving […]
Longtime Claremonter, UCLA grad, devoted Catholic, ardent sports fan Margaret K. “Peggy” Brown died peacefully on July 25. She was born December 15, 1931 in Chicago, the only child of James and Margaret Brown. She spent her younger years in Chicago and San Antonio, Texas, before the family moved to Long Beach, California. Peggy graduated […]
Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, traveler On Wednesday, July 31, Margaret Smith Miller, beloved mother to five, grandmother to 13, and great-grandmother to 24 children, died at the age of 93 in Bountiful, Utah. Margaret was born on March 13, 1926 in Nephi, Utah. The daughter of Calvin Schwartz and Ethel Lucile Smith, she was […]
University president, author, minister, professor The Reverend F. Thomas Trotter died peacefully Friday, July 26 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, surrounded by his wife Gania Demaree Trotter and other members of his family. He was 93 years of age. As a minister, professor, administrator and visionary, Reverend Trotter’s decades of service to the United […]
Steady companion, prolific eater, home protector Pixie Weinberger, beloved dog of the Weinberger family, died in her home of natural causes on Thursday, August 1 in Claremont. The 13-year-old, eight-pound, white Chihuahua was surrounded by those who loved her before leaving to the great pooch heaven in the sky. It was love at first sight […]
Beloved great-grandmother, artist, musician, animal lover Mary Frances Sanders died on July 24 in Carlsbad, California, where she had lived for 23 years. She was 93. Mary was born August 31, 1925. She and her husband of 66 years, David Scott Sanders, who preceded her in death, moved to Carlsbad from Claremont following Mr. Sanders’ […]