Obituaries

Roy F. Jennings Roy F. Jennings, a 56-year resident and longtime high school teacher in Santa Paula, died suddenly at home on December 2, 2008 at the age of 83.He was born on June 15, 1925 in Sitka, Alaska, the youngest of four children to D. Russell and Bertha H. Jennings, who were missionaries at Sheldon Jackson School. The family moved to southern California in 1928, and Roy subsequently attended public schools in the Huntington Park area.He graduated from Huntington Park High School in 1943 and, after being drafted that fall by the U.S. Army, proudly served as volunteer truck driver with the Red Ball Express in France, and later as a combat scout with the 379th Infantry Regiment, 95th Division during World War II in Europe. His combat experiences (which were documented on an episode aired on the History Channel three years ago) resulted in his earning the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He was subsequently evacuated out of combat after acquiring a case of trench foot, and sent to hospitals in France, England and the United States before being discharged on disability on July 24, 1945.Upon Roy’s return home to Walnut Park, California in 1945, he attended Los Angeles City College and Whittier College on the GI Bill and subsequently received his BA degree from the latter institution in 1950. During that time, he participated in local Methodist Church and YMCA activities, where he dated Helen Virginia Sowers, a girl from Huntington Park whose house was on his paper route before the war.Roy and Helen were married on August 19, 1950, and after Roy went to California State University, Los Angeles, to earn his secondary credential, they worked as teachers in the Los Angeles school system for a year. In the summer of 1952, Roy was offered a coaching and teaching position at Santa Paula Union High School. Thus in the fall of 1952, Roy, Helen and their new baby moved to Santa Paula.Roy subsequently taught U.S. History, Driver’s Education Instruction, and Social Studies to generations of Santa Paulans from 1952 to 1986, as well as turning out “El Solano,” the high school yearbook, and coaching Varsity Basketball and JV Baseball for a number of years. His classes were normally taught by him telling stories, often based on personal experience rather than textbooks or newsreels. He also brought actual historical objects (such as Roman coins) to class for students to handle and study. He was always grateful in his retirement years to the former students who would stop him on the street or at the store and say “You were the best teacher” they ever had.Roy was an accomplished painter, woodworker and outdoorsman, as well as teacher. His paintings, furniture and carvings adorned the Jennings home for 53 years. His successful hunting and fishing expeditions provided many wonderful meals.His loving wife preceded him in death in 2006. He is survived by three children, Sue Ellen Austin, Anne Lorene Moore and Mark Russell Jennings, as well as six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. We wish our best to all who have known Roy and his family here in Santa Paula.Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home and Crematory, 3150 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura.Libby SanchezOn December 12, 2008, our beloved mother Libby M. Sanchez passed away at the Santa Paula Hospital from a sudden illness. She was 87 years old. She will be deeply missed by her children, Ruben, Manuel Jr., Christina and Ronnie, four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, five great-great grandchildren, family members and friends.She was born July 20, 1921 in the town of Villa Hidalgo in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. She entered the United States when she was almost 2 years old, and later in life she became a U.S. citizen and was very proud of it.She started kindergarten in Sonora, Arizona. When the family later moved to Rancho Sespe, she attended school in Fillmore. Rancho Sespe is where she met her future husband, but she didn’t know it because she was only 9 years old.Later the family moved to Santa Paula, where she attended Santa Paula High School. After her marriage, the family lived in Sanger, Fresno, San Jose, and back to Santa Paula, where she has been a resident for the last 54 years.