Mary Elizabeth Reddin

Mary Elizabeth Reddin (nee Marshall) passed away in her Goleta home of sixty-five years in the early morning of January 24, 2024. She is predeceased by her late husband Bowen Franklin Reddin Jr., her son Thomas Franklin Reddin (Judy), her daughter Valerie Yvonne Davis, and her daughter Elizabeth Joy Reddin. She is survived by her daughter Sharon Iverson (Ron), her son Roy Reddin (Karen), her daughter Rebecca Reddin, and her son Bowen P. Reddin. In addition, she leaves her siblings Marte Turner, Gene Marshall, Phillip Marshall, and Phyllis Ward, as well as endeared nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. She was Grandmother to her cherished Naomi (Tim), Robin (Mark), Angela (Cedric), Genette (Joseph), Eric (Oriana), Caleb (Haley), MacKenzie (Aaron), and Ethan, and Great-grandmother to her beloved Alex, Conor, Liam, Tess, Malcolm, Emani, Kai, Xavier, Azure, Gabriel, Loic, Finn, Judah, Avery, Jillian, Julian, and Juniper. Mary was born in Wamego, Kansas, on August 22, 1926, to Carrie Elizabeth Marshall (Pugh) and Lee Webster Marshall. She was a farm-girl during the early days of the Great Depression and witnessed the auctioning-off of the family's farm and equipment as the Dust Bowl crippled the American Plains. Her parent's farming ambitions were revived when the Roosevelt Administration established a colony of homesteaders in the Matanuska Valley in Alaska. Mary's family homesteaded near Palmer, Alaska, clearing forty acres of heavy forest, planting crops, and building a log home. Mary enjoyed 4-H, playing violin in the orchestra, and playing basketball for her high school. She met Sargeant Frank Reddin in 1942, when his Army Coast Artillery outfit was near Palmer securing logs for gun emplacements. They married in 1942 and Mary left Alaska, first to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she attended Central High School, and then to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she completed high school while Frank attended Butler University as an Army Air Corps Cadet. Mary's cumulative high school record earned her Valedictorian honors. After the war's conclusion forestalled Frank's air training, the couple moved to Texas, then Santa Barbara, back to Alaska, Little Rock, and finally, in 1954, to Santa Barbara. From 1959 Mary was a resident of Goleta, raising her seven children, participating in their education and numerous activities, attending La Mesa Christian Church, which became Cathedral Oaks Christian Church, and Community Covenant Church. Mary worked for the Goleta Gazette and later the Santa Barbara County Welfare Department, from which she retired. She was well informed about local, national, and international issues, and never ceased learning about her town's rich history. Mary was a constant source of love and support for her family, neighbors, and friends. In her quiet, non-judgmental manner she showered others with the warmth of hope, humor, and love. All who knew her held her in the highest esteem, and in her grace, wisdom, and compassion she lived her Christian faith. Mary's legacy is her unwavering model of goodness. A Memorial Service will be held for Mary on Saturday, February 10, at 1:00 p.m. at Community Covenant Church, 5070 Cathedral Oaks Rd.

Mary Elizabeth Reddin

August 22, 1926 - January 24, 2024