With sadness, VCCCDRA has learned of the passing of Gerald “Jerry” D. Dunlap on September 30, 2020 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Jerry began his career at Ventura College in 1967 where he coached football and wrestling. He later became the college’s athletic director. Coach Dunlap’s teams earned multiple conference championships and state titles. He served as president of the Western State Conference and has been inducted into the Ventura College Athletic Hall of Fame as well as the California Community College Athletic Directors Hall of Fame.
A celebration of his life will take place at a date to be determined. Please use this link to read his complete obituary.
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With sadness, VCCCDRA has learned of the recent passing of Bill Fox on June 21, 2020. Bill was a biology professor at Ventura College. Bill was also known as an expert carver of Halloween pumpkins, and he and his pumpkin art were featured in an LA Times article that was published in 1990.
The VCCCDRA was saddened to learn that Dr. Stan Bowers passed on April 27, 2020. Stan served as president of Moorpark College and retired as Dean of Counseling at Oxnard College. Under his leadership as president of MC, Dr. Bowers started the first RN Certified Nursing program in the VCCCD and constructed the current Moorpark College football stadium.
Stan’s obituary is printed in the VC Star of September 25, 2020, and re-published here:
Dr. Stanley Lowell Bowers, 85, passed away on April 27, 2020, with family and friends in his heart and on his mind.
His care and passion for others and the community will be missed. Under his leadership as President of Moorpark College, Dr. Bowers started the first RN Certified Nursing program in the VCC district and constructed the current Moorpark College football stadium. His passion for others carried on after his retirement and was evident in the tireless and behind the scenes work with the Kiwanis Club, and other youth and elderly support organizations will be also be his legacy.
Stan was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, with a Doctorate from the University of Southern California. His passion was college football and watching his USC Trojans with his family and friends.
As a published History professor his interests included world travel (visited 47 countries), stamp collecting, reading, and most of all spending time with his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
His passion for life, travel, learning, and helping others will continue through his children, grandchildren, and friends.
Stan is survived by son, Erik Bowers and wife Carol; daughter, Virginia Schowe and her husband Mark; daughter, Valarie Rangel and her husband John; grandchildren, Timothy, Charlie, Nicholas, Kelsey, Kevin, Celina, Marissa; and great-grandchildren, Laila and Landon.
Stan’s favorite quote was from Ralph Waldo Emerson which states, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
With great sadness, VCCCDRA has learned of the passing on August 20, 2020 of Tom Kimberling, retired VP of Business Services from VC and former Vice Chancellor of Business Services of the VCCCD.
Tom received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Washington; an MBA from the University of Puget Sound; and a Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of La Verne.
VCCCDRA is not aware of any services at this time.
It was with great sadness that VCCCDRA learned of the passing of William H. Lawson, Bill to colleagues and friends in the district, on July 15, 2020. Bill was a member of the 1967 founding administration at Moorpark College, hired as an Assistant Dean of Instruction, Vocational-Technical and Evening. He served district students in his role at the district office as Assistant Chancellor of the Ventura County Community College, and then at Oxnard College as Dean of Vocation Education, Economic Development, Continuing Education, Disabled Students and Special Projects Administrator, until he retired in 1995. Part of his responsibilities at each of the three locations was grant writing and in that capacity brought in thousands of dollars to support students and programs in technical fields.
To view his obituary, published in the Ventura County Star on July 22, 2020, use this link. There is no information on a memorial service.
Yesterday, July 5, 2020, on her Facebook page, Donna Granata, Executive Director of Focus on the Masters, posted arrangements for Gerd Koch’s final services.
“Gerd Koch’s burial will take place on Tuesday, July 7 at 2 p.m. at Ivy Lawn Cemetery, 5400 Valentine Rd., Ventura. The graveside service will be extremely limited and by invitation only due to Covid.
“There will be two opportunities for the public to participate to allow for everyone to pay their respects.
“We are planning to broadcast the service on Facebook Live so that you can watch from the comfort of your home. You will need to make sure you are a “friend” on Facebook of Donna Granata, Gerd and/or Carole or “like” the Focus on the Masters Facebook page. If all goes as planned, we will share the live link to each of these pages and ask that you share the link to reach the whole community.”
“You may also participate in a drive by procession that will allow you to remain in your car and drive by the grave site while listening to the service on Facebook. The location is very close to the road and the road is part of a loop. You can remain in the loop for the duration of the service or exit at any time. We anticipate the service to be about 30 minutes. Signs will direct you.
“We invite you to wear a hat on Tuesday in honor of Gerd.
“There will be no public memorial gathering after the burial at this time due to Covid. We will plan a Celebration of Life at a later date. Please share to help us get the word out. Thank you and please stay well.”
As Donna notes, the graveside service is by invitation only, but everyone is invited to view the online streaming of the service. You must have a Facebook account to view the service streaming AND you must be a ‘friend’ of Donna Granata, Gerd, and/or Carole. OR, if you go to ‘Focus on the Masters’ Facebook page and “LIKE” the page, you will be able to view the streaming of the service there.
With sadness, the VCCCDRA has learned of the passing of Gerd Koch the morning of June 26, 2020. Gerd was an art professor at Ventura College.
Gerd Kock was a nationally known artist who was known for his abstract expressionistic paintings and who taught at Ventura College for many years. He earned his BFA from Wayne State University in Detroit, and his MFA from UCSB. In addition to teaching at Ventura College, he co-founded the Studio Channel Islands Art Center which is a large area with four galleries (one in his name), a sculpture garden, and studios for thirty artists. As a Board member, he curated exhibitions, many of which were large paintings. He also curated a John Nava Exhibition of 30 to 40 large tapestry pieces for the Cathedral project at the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (John Nava is a nationally known artist who produces large tapestries). Use this link to read his bio at the Studio Channel Islands website.
We have no information regarding services at this time, and will post the obituary when it is published.
With sadness, VCCCDRA learned of the passing of Coach Larry Baratte. During his tenure at Ventura College, Coach Baratte’s swimming teams won 24 Western State Conference titles and consistently finished in the top-5 at the California State Championships, highlighted by winning the 2005 and 2010 Men’s Swimming & Diving State Championship. His teams were also honored statewide for their academic results with 12 teams earning the CCCAA State Scholar Team Award. In 2007, Larry was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame.
The family is asking in lieu of flowers, that memorial gifts be made to
(1) Brain Tumor Research at Cedars-Sinai. Checks made payable to: Cedars-Sinai, and in the memo line, “Larry Baratte/Dr Hu’s Research”.
Mail to:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Attn: Paola Werstler 8700 Beverly Blvd.,
Suite 2416 Los Angeles,
CA 90048
If you have any questions, please call Paola Werstler at 310-423-2474 or email at paola.werstler@cshs.org.
OR
(2) to the Ventura College Foundation. Checks made payable to Ventura College Foundation, and in the memo line “Larry Baratte Aquati Fund”
Mail to:
Ventura College Foundation
4667 Telegraph Road Ventura, CA 93003
It is with great sadness that VCCCDRA has learned of the passing of our colleague, Yvonne Bodle Mason. We, in the district, knew her as a valued colleague, professor of accounting, director of financial aid and Vice President of Instruction, at Ventura College. But colleagues around the state knew her as a member of the Community College Board of Governors and of the California State Teachers Retirement Board.
Yvonne was a local, having graduated from Oxnard High School and Ventura College. She earned a bachelors degree in educational administration from San Jose State University, a masters degree from Colombia University, and a Ph.D. in policy and organizational studies from University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Due to the current health crisis, services have been postponed. To plant Memorial Trees in her memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Last month, we posted the notice of the passing of Sue Johnson retired Vice Chancellor of Business and Administrative Services. Today, through Dr. Robin Calote, retired President of Ventura College, we received Sue’s obituary written by Sue’s husband, Clyde Johnson. Please note the name and address where memorial gifts may be sent.
Sue Filion Johnson April 29, 1950- April 1, 2020
Susan Filion Johnson passed away on April 1, 2020, after a yearlong battle with an aggressive cancer. She was born in Rochester N.H. on April 29, 1950 to Marlene and Gerard Filion, and was the eldest sibling to her brothers, Glen and Kevin. Sue grew up in Newmarket but spent her last two years of high school on Guam, where her father had accepted a civil service job. Upon returning to Newmarket, she attended McIntosh Business College, where she obtained her associate degree in business and met Clyde Johnson, who became her husband of 50 years. Upon graduating, she worked at the University of New Hampshire while Clyde finished his degree, and they had their daughter, Andrea. A job opportunity brought them to California, where she would spend the remainder of her life. She built an impressive career, working in accounting at Cal State Northridge, as controller for Volunteers of America, and in the business offices of Cal State LA and the city of Thousand Oaks. While working full time, she managed to finish both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while also teaching part-time at the community college level. She worked for 20 years for the Ventura County Community College District, retiring in 2013 as the Vice Chancellor of Business and Administrative Services. Sue’s fiscal expertise, work ethic, and commitment to the educational community earned her the respect of professional colleagues at both the state and local levels, and she developed meaningful friendships that reached far beyond work. Sue loved to travel and made many trips around the country and overseas. She loved the beauty of America’s National Parks, especially Yosemite, where she and Clyde purchased a vacation home a few years ago. Sue is survived by her loving husband Clyde Johnson, treasured daughter Andrea Cervantes and son-in-law Luis Cervantes, and six grandchildren whom she adored: Jeremy, Jacob, Joshua, Julia, Jonah and Jocelyn. She is also survived by her brothers Glen and Kevin Filion and their families. Plans for a celebration of Sue’s life have been delayed due to the ongoing public health crisis and will be announced at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to support research under the direction of Dr. Alexander Black at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Donations may be directed to the:
Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, Attn: Diana Howard; 8- 950 Factor Bldg, Box 951780, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1780 (310) 206-0675
