Jeanne Marie Moulton

August 11, 1926 - April 26, 2018

Jeanne Marie (Finley) Moulton was born in South Dakota to a large family of prairie homesteaders. When she was ten years old, her mother died of pneumonia. Despite the hardships of the drought and the Great Depression, Jeanne lovingly mentored her three siblings: Frank, Jerry and Peggy. It was at this time that Jeanne began her selfless trials that defined her life. Her tremendous faith prompted her to become a loving nurturer, which extended way beyond her family. Without hesitation, she would jump in her car or board a train and travel to love, support and nurse friends through their most difficult times of sickness, death and grief. The hardships of the prairie drove the Finley children to Los Angeles, where at age 16, Jeanne began working in the bustling downtown area. There she worked at Republic Insurance and unknowingly worked with the earliest computers. Throughout her life, Jeanne loved to dance and have fun. She and her sister would go to the Hollywood Palladium and dance during the Big Band Era. At the end of the war, she met Charles Moulton at one of these dances. Fresh off the boat, young Charlie fell head over heels in love with our beautiful Jeanne. He had to battle through a legion of Finley aunts and relatives to get a date with her, but they married in 1946 and had five children: Linda, Bert, Colleen, Brian, and Jim. In 1958, after ten years of living in Montebello, CA, they moved to the Mesa in Santa Barbara, where they created and maintained a loving home for generations to come. Born to be a nurse, she went to college and received her Bachelor of Science at UCSB, followed by a Registered Nurse degree at SBCC, after raising her five children. She became the PTA President at Our Lady of Guadalupe and a longtime President of Holy Cross’ Altar Society. Jeanne's love flowed without any boundaries like age, race or religion. As a loving mother, she wanted her children to have fun. After chores were completed, she would drive them to the beach every day or the harbor to spend the day exploring and fishing. She and her family would have picnics every Saturday at different parks throughout Santa Barbara, but she especially loved Leadbetter Park and enjoyed going there, up until her end days. Her son Jimmy died tragically in a car accident at the age of 23 and her husband Charles Moulton died at age 61. As the matriarch of her family, she poured her love into seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. All of them, and many of you reading this, have been touched by her love...a sincere, humble love that transcends time.