Bill and Eleanor moved to Santa Paula in 1955, and Bill worked for Wilson, Stroh & Wilson, Architects. He established his own business, W. D. Crouch Structural Engineers, in 1962, and remained in the same office on Railroad Avenue in Santa Paula. Engineering was his life long passion. He never wanted to retire, and so he continued to work until his last hospitalization.Bill and Eleanor raised five children in Santa Paula:Bob Crouch, a correctional officer, lives in Granite Falls, Washington with his wife Linda, their daughter Paula and her children. Bob’s son Rob, the only other engineer in the family, works for Boeing and lives in the San Fernando Valley.Janet Mills retired recently as an oncology nurse, and lives with her husband Tim in San Diego. Janet’s son, Jason Milligan, lives in the Bay Area with his children; her daughters Janelle Milligan and Kimothie Mills live in San Diego also.Donna Landeros, City Manager for the City of Ventura, lives in Ventura with her husband Ben. Their son Marcos will be moving to New York to attend the Pratt Institute of Art this fall.Dan Crouch works in marketing for an insurance company in the Bay Area, where he lives with his wife Natalie and their two daughters, Emily and Sarah.Thom Crouch, an aviator and major in the Army, has been stationed in Alabama but is transferring to Monterey to be an instructor at the United States Naval Postgraduate School. He and his wife Marjorie have three children, Susan, Thomas Jr. and Dana Rene.After raising their family, Eleanor was encouraged by Bill to run for the City Council of Santa Paula. In 1975 she was the first woman elected to the Santa Paula City Council and served as mayor from 1981-1983, when she retired from the Council. Eleanor continues to be active as a community and church volunteer.All of the family participated in Bill’s care in the last four years and, despite the geographical differences, were able to support their father and mother and each other.In addition to his wife and children, Bill is survived by his sisters, Jean Shepherd of Ogden Utah and Ruth Tibbitts of Seattle, Washington; brother-in-law John E. Denham and his wife Shirley of Thousand Oaks; and brother-in-law Jim Denham of Apple Valley. Bill’s parents, his brother Phil, sister Alice, and his sister-in-law Mary Wright preceded him in death.Bill’s many friends from his engineering business, church, community and numerous sporting activities are invited to join the Crouch family for a celebration of his life on Saturday, April 8 at 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church at the corner of Mill and Santa Barbara Streets in Santa Paula. Lunch will be served immediately after in Wesley Hall adjacent to the church.In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial gifts to one of the following: the First Methodist Church Endowment Fund, Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, or the Ventura Pier Foundation to purchase a bench looking across the channel to the islands.Arrangements are under the direction of McDermott/Crockett Mortuary, Santa Barbara.
Obituaries
April 07, 2000
Obituaries
Gene Davis
Gene Davis, age 58, passed away March 29, 2000 in Riverview, Florida.Gene was born July 29, 1941 in Blount County, Tennessee. He came to Santa Paula as a small boy with his parents, Dorothy and O. L. “Cotton” Davis. He attended elementary schools here in Santa Paula, and graduated from Santa Paula High School in 1959.Gene joined the armed services after graduation, and was stationed in Alaska. After getting out of the service he went to work for GTE Telephone Company in Tampa, Florida, and worked for 35 years.Gene is survived by his wife Pat of Riverview, FL; daughter Debbie French of Plantation, FL; son Jeffery (wife Windy) and their two children of Coconut Creek, FL; mother Dorothy Davis of Santa Paula; two brothers, Tim (wife Lillian) Davis of Camarillo and Mike (wife Sharon) Davis of Pioneer, CA; two nieces and two nephews; an aunt, Cina Hubbs of Ventura; and many friends.Gene was preceded in death by his father, O. L. “Cot” Davis.Glady MattesonGlady Matteson, 91, of Santa Paula, died Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital following a lengthy illness.Mrs. Matteson was born February 17, 1909 in Tunas, Missouri. She was a seven-year county resident, coming from Los Angeles. She loved to garden and had a green thumb.She will be missed by her family: son and daughter-in-law Dennis and Akiko Lotspeich, Rancho Palos Verdes; son and daughter-in-law Billy and Marguerita Lotspeich of Simi Valley; brothers, Lonnie Nasalroad of Santa Paula, and Fred and Willard Nasalroad; sisters, Lady Taylor, Betty Jo Lyttle of Santa Paula, and Jackie Cook; six grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.Graveside services were held April 6 at Santa Paula Cemetery, with the Reverend Kenneth Bevel officiating.Arrangements under the direction of Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary, Santa Paula.William CrouchWilliam Crouch, structural engineer and long time resident of Santa Paula, died Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at the Rehabilitation Institute at Santa Barbara following a four-and-a-half-year illness from complications of heart bypass surgery.Bill was born in Washington, D.C. in 1921, and moved with his parents, William and Ethel Crouch, to Reseda when he was 3 years old. In 1942 he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and married his high school sweetheart, Eleanor Denham.A combat veteran, he served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, and in San Pedro during the Korean War.
