Glenetta Farrell
Glenetta Betty Farrell passed away in her Laguna Beach home Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010.
Born Glenetta Schacht on Nov. 29, 1930, and raised in Redlands, Calif., she studied literature and education
at college in California, and then directed a Montessori school.
She married James Moies Farrell in 1952, a Stanford graduate and manager for Altec Lansing.
Farrell loved people, traveling, art, music, cooking and cultures of all kinds. She became an accomplished vocalist, and was a faithful participant at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach.
A strong and vibrant personality, Farrell won hearts with her personal interest in people of other cultures, especially the less fortunate. She voiced concern for social justice.
The couple spent almost 20 years in retirement at a ranch in Baja, Calif., where Glenetta taught English to her many Mexican friends.
In 2007, Glenetta spent six months in Pemba, Mozambique, where her daughter, Heidi Gayle Baker, directs Iris Ministries together with her husband. Hundreds of Mozambican children and staff remember Glenetta’s company and lively teaching.
She is also survived by her second daughter, Diane Cwieka, and her husband Dan; by two sisters, Gayle and Diana; and by five grandchildren, Elisha Baker, Matthew Rollings, Crystalyn Baker Human, Morgan and Tyler Cwieka.
A Glenetta Farrell Memorial Fund was established to benefit Iris Ministries at PO Box 493995, Redding, CA 96049-3995.
photo Glenetta Farrell
Kit Drollinger
Longtime resident Kit Drollinger died Oct. 8, three days short of her 84th birthday.
Kit Elseroad Drollinger was born on Oct. 11, 1926, in Elizabeth, N.J., the eldest sibling to three younger brothers, one of whom died at age 6. Her surviving brothers, Albert and Tom Elseroad reside in Florida.
Her father managed a resort on New York’s Fire Island, where Kit worked as a post-mistress and met her future husband, Ed Drollinger. They married on May 21, 1949.
Kit graduated from Wilson College, Penn., with a degree in Spanish.
The couple lived in Plainfield, N.J., where Kit became involved in civil rights issues, including receiving an honorary life membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The couple and their two daughters moved to Lake Forest in 1968, where Kit became involved in her new community, joining the League of Women Voters and later serving as president and volunteering for county Supervisor Tom Riley.
In 1976, the Drollingers moved to Laguna Beach where Kit continued to volunteer. Though fire consumed their Mystic Hills home, they rebuilt their dream home, even restoring with the same type of wall paper.
She was involved in two important Laguna Beach studies. One resulted in a volunteer spending limit for council elections, a decision gutted by a later board. The second involved the conversion of the Treasure Island trailer park to a combination of public space and hotel use.
The Drollingers were supporters of many civic organizations, including the Great Parks Conservancy, Orange County Community Foundation and Laguna Canyon Conservancy.
Kit is survived by her husband, Ed; daughters, Ruth Hart and Susan Conner; two grandsons and a great granddaughter.
A celebration of her life will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach, 429 Cypress.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to the NAACP, Orange Coast League of Women Voters, or the Braille Institute.
Diana Brown
Diana Bartholomew Brown suffered a stroke and passed away Oct. 13, 2010, in Castine, Maine, two weeks prior to her 74th birthday.
She was born Oct. 28, 1936, to Eliot and Margaret Bartholomew in New York.
Brown was educated at Oak Grove in Vassalboro, Maine, and University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She married Ralph Brown in Laconia, N.H., on May 5, 1962. They moved to Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach, where they raised their family.
Brown was a regular on the tennis courts and beach for many years and an icon in the community.
She is survived by her husband, Ralph, of Monarch Beach; daughter, Leslie Brown Chalmers and son-in-law Scott Chalmers of Manhattan Beach; son Christopher Brown and daughter-in-law, Janelle Brown of San Clemente; son, Matthew Brown and daughter-in-law, Dawn Brown of Eugene, Ore.; brothers, David Bartholomew, Laguna Beach, and Peter Bartholomew, Gilmanton, N.H.; and 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Brown’s birthday, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010, at the Laguna Presbyterian Church followed immediately by a celebration of her life.
