Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 17, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 17, 2019 

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REMEMBRANCE

BARBARA JEAN TERMATH

June 28, 1923-August 1, 2019 

 Barbara Jean Termath died peacefully in her 
sleep August 1, 2019, after celebrating her 96th 
birthday on June 28. Born to Maxine Rogers and 
Chesterfield Wyvell, at Huntington Hospital in 
Pasadena California, Barbara was a California 
girl through and through. Her first years were 
happily spent with her mother in the Sierra 
Madre home of her maternal grandparents, 
surrounded by the canaries, cats and dogs her 
grandmother raised. Along with the family’s fur 
and feathered friends, the beauty of the flora and 
fauna at the foothills, instilled in Barbara a love 
for, “All things wise and wonderful, all creatures 
great and small,” which she carried throughout 
her life, and passed on to her daughters.

 When she was four years old, her mother 
Maxine, married Philip Eugene Memoli, who 
served as first chair oboist with the Los Angeles 
Philharmonic and later the MGM Studio 
Orchestra. Soon, Barbara’s sister Shirley was 
born and the girls enjoyed a happy home filled 
with family and friends that nurtured in them a 
lifelong love of music. 

 Barbara met her future husband, Donald Henry 
Termath, at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. 
It was the height of the big band era. They loved 
to dance, and fell in love to the tunes of Tommy 
Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Frank Sinatra. 
Don served in the Coast Guard during WWII, 
on a troop carrier in the Pacific. They wed in 
1945, during a leave from service before Don was 
honorably discharged that same year.

 Returning to her early childhood home on 
Sturtevant Dr. in Sierra Madre, Barbara and her 
new groom lovingly cared for her grandfather 
during the last years of his life and celebrated the 
arrival of their two daughters. Later, the family 
moved across town to a new Fairview Avenue 
home they cherished. Throughout this time, they 
remained active at St. Rita’s Catholic Church 
parish and the Mater de la Rosa monastery 
nestled in the Sierra Madre foothills.

 Barbara enjoyed serving the public as receptionist 
in a local dental practice and during her years at 
Arnold’s Hardware and Gifts. Her ability to guide 
her loyal customers to the choice of just the right 
gift for their friend or loved one was legendary. 
Her artistic arrangements adorned the store and 
home with treasures and mementos she held 
dear.

 Barbara loved her family and enjoyed watching 
it grow as her three grandchildren came along. 
They loved their visits to Sierra Madre, where 
they squeezed lemons from grandpa’s trees 
into grandma’s famous homemade lemonade. 
Barbara took great pleasure in her garden, 
especially , chatting over the fence at the end of 
a hot California day. Her door was always open 
and she made time to stop and listen with her 
heart to friends and neighbors. Everyone felt like 
they were her best friend even the checker at the 
supermarket.

 After Don passed away in 2005, Barbara moved 
to Carmel to be near her daughter and “son in 
love”, as she would say. There she made many 
new friends and welcomed old ones. Barbara 
marveled at her good fortune to live near the 
ocean, never tiring of a ride around Scenic Drive, 
ending with the viewing of the sheep at Mission 
Ranch.

 She is deeply missed by her family and friends 
and is survived by her daughter Pamela and 
husband Jerry Takigawa, daughter Kathleen and 
husband Jeff Brown and their children Ryan, 
Sean and wife Megan, granddaughter Noelle, 
Lauren and husband Peter Clinkenbeard and 
niece Denise Bratton. Barbara was preceded in 
death by her parents, her husband, and her sister, 
Shirley McCarthy.

 The family extends heartfelt thanks to Elder 
Care Consultant Shirley Kiata RN CMC, DR. 
Susan Kubicka MD, John O’Brian and the 
Central Coast Senior Services – especially Alta, 
Christian, Dylan, Heidi, Lillus, Reyna, Sonia, 
Vanessa , the nurses and staff of VNA Hospice 
Care, also Francia and Chrissy and all who gave 
superb care and attention to our Barbara.

Donations may be made in Barbara Termath’s 
name to:

 VNA Hospice Care, PO Box 2480, Monterey, 
California 93940, or to a charity of your choice. 
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.
bermudezfamilyfunerals.com


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side by Deanne Davis

“Hello August! The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, 
the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it 
pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from 
balmy spring, and those that follow are a drop to the chill of autumn. But 
the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, 
with blank white dawns and glaring noons and sunsets smeared with too 
much color.” 

Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting

“August in sub-Saharan Los Angeles is one of the great and awful tests of 
one’s endurance, sanity and stamina.” Henry Rollins

The beginning of last week was really pleasant. Then came the really too hot 
and miserable days when we could honestly say, “These are the times that 
try men’s (and women’s and children’s and dogs and cat’s) souls.” Of course, 
when Thomas Paine said that in 1776, he wasn’t talking about the weather. 
Now, mid-August, we’re ready to think a little bit about a cooler fall. I, 
personally, can’t wait for September to decorate for fall – get out all my 
pumpkins, start setting them around and wishing I’d bought that beautiful 
blown-glass pumpkin I saw at the Art Fair last May. Can there really be too 
many pumpkins?

I was so happy to see Christopher Nyerges column about painting the 
kitchen in the farmhouse with flat paint instead of glossy and being 
ridiculed was reprinted in the News last week. This was such a good and 
thoughtful observation. Here’s what he said: 

“I began to think about how Uncle Joe responded and how he could have 
responded. I realized then, the great truth in the phrase that WHAT we do 
is of little or no importance, but HOW we do it is everything.... I realized 
how important such ‘little things” can be, and I wondered how well I 
would do when my next opportunity arose. It is especially important with 
impressionable youth to do the very best we can to be a good example.”

Go back and look up last week’s paper online if you can’t find it in town and 
read Christopher’s excellent column on Page 5. This is so true, that the way 
we treat young people can affect them for life. 

Speaking of young people, I came across this nifty page (pictured) at my 
doctor’s office. It’s so neat to see that kindness is being promoted these days 
among the younger set and bullying is simply not tolerated. It’s a shame that 
doesn’t extend to all areas of life...social media, for instance. Anyway, here’s 
what I think I’d say:

K – Keep silent if it’s not kind

I – Interested – be interested in what others are doing

N – Never be mean

D – Demonstrate God’s love to everyone you meet

N – Notice something nice about those around you

E – Express gratitude for life itself

S – Speak encouragingly

S – See if you can help someone who is struggling

There’s my poem. What would you write?

If you haven’t been to the movies lately, go see “Dora And The Lost City 
of Gold” featuring a bunch of splendid young actors in an exciting tale of 
tracking down kidnapped parents, finding a lost city in the jungle, beating 
bad guys and repeatedly escaping death! We enjoyed every single minute 
of adventure and there were great humorous moments, too. I don’t think 
I’d take anybody much under 9 or 10 as it’s a little long for the really little 
people. Not just a kid movie. Trust me!

Stay cool, dear friends and neighbors and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” 

is a great gift for yourself or someone you love! 

Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

is also available on my Amazon book page.

CASE OF THE VANISHED WIENERS

KATIE Tse....This and That


Who can resist a title like that! Wish I could take 
credit for it, but this is another gem from the Detroit 
Free Press, 1952. Other possibilities included: “The 
Hotdog Thief,” “Gone Missing Between the Aisles,” 
“And Then There were None.”

In summary, a “store detective” caught a lady 
consuming a package of wieners without paying for 
them. The article even listed her home address, so 
the community can shame her I suppose. And they 
printed her photo, too. 

I tried to capture her likeness, but couldn’t do justice 
to the poetic blend of shame and anxiety. All I can 
say is that the woman in question looks exactly like 
what you’d expect a 46 year-old woman caught eating a package of hotdogs 
without paying for them would look like.

The store pursued this misdemeanor all the way to court. Poor Mrs. [X] 
explained that she’d had a snack before going shopping. Apparently she 
thought convincing the judge of being satiated before entering the store 
would help her case. But even this admission only digs her deeper into 
guilt, when you analyze the details.

Mrs. X reported that before embarking on her grocery trip, she had a 
vegetable plate at the five and dime. Okay, so from this, in addition to her 
pudgy photo (sorry, you must use your imagination), we can deduce that 
Mrs. X was trying a diet. 

But it was short lived, because she then reported ordering a sundae. Clearly 
she’d abandoned any diet plans for the day and thrown weight loss caution 
to the wind. No doubt her next thought was, “Well, I’ve blown it today. 
Might as well start this diet nonsense tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow will be a 
clean slate. But today’s fair game!”

Those were the thoughts running through her head when she entered 
the market and laid eyes on a package of hotdogs beckoning her with the 
irresistible siren song of pork and nitrates. Who could withstand temptation 
like that?

So she tore into them, cold and 
clammy as they were. In defense of 
Mrs. X however, the woman had 11 
children at home, so you’ve got to cut 
her some slack for stress eating. She 
was doing well in that it was hotdogs 
and not heroin. 

All the while Mrs. X was tucking into 
her wieners, the female store detective 
stalked her like a lion waiting to 
nab a water buffalo. I wonder what 
specifically Mrs. X did that made the 
detective conclude a crime had been 
committed. 

Did she hide the wrapper somewhere? 
If she’d just showed the checker the empty package and offered to pay, would 
all have been forgiven? Could this incident have been resolved without the 
messiness of a trial?

But at least Mrs. X’s husband was on her side. I quote, “She likes to eat, 
judge. But she’s a good wife.” Love means never having to say you’re sorry 
--for stealing hotdogs.

I shall quote the end of the article for you:

“Judge Krause looked at the rotund figure and weighed the evidence 
(author’s note: ‘weighed,’ get it! Ha! They sure knew how to slip in a clever 
pun at the Detroit Free Press!). ‘I’ll find you guilty,’ he said. ‘But I’ll give you 
a suspended sentence. Go home.’”

Reminds me of Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin 
no more.” Sobering. 

*School’s back! Check out my novel, “A Year at Apex,” in paperback and 
ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! A classic love story between a 
school teacher and a one-handed plumber, Apex has it all --humor, 
romance, the human condition, and public education. Perfect for you and 
the educator in your life!


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

August 5 to August 11 2019 - During this period the Sierra Madre Police 
Department responded to 311 calls for service. 

Vandalism of vehicles 
On Monday, 8/5/19, officers responded at 4:05PM to the 700 block of 
W. Sierra Madre Bl for a report that a resident’s vehicle was vandalized. 
Sometime between 8:30AM and 4:00PM the same day, unknown 
person(s) used some type of object to smash the front passenger window 
and leave the property. 
Wednesday, 8/7/19, a resident parked and locked her vehicle on the street 
in the 300 block of N. Mountain Trail at 4:45PM and returned at 7:50PM 
to find her rear window smashed. A search of the area for evidence or a 
suspect was unsuccessful. These cases forwarded to Detectives for further 
investigation 

Vandalism of a residence 
On Sunday, 8/11/19 at 12:44AM, a resident reported that an unknown 
person(s) threw eggs at the front door of his residence on Saturday, 
8/10/19 sometime between 7:00PM and midnight. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com