10-18-02obituaries

Nadea Butler Middleton, 79, died Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2002 after a brief illness in Virginia Beach, Va. She was born June 8, 1923 in Southampton, N.Y., to Dr. Charles Terry and Dorothy Powell Butler. The family moved to Ojai in 1930, where Nadea Butler attended the Ojai Valley School (Class of '37). She was a graduate of Smith College (Class of 1945), majoring in landscape architecture and architecture. She was married to Dr. David Middleton in 1945, and raised four children in Concord, Mass., where she cultivated her interest in the outdoors, music, painting, drawing and architectural rendering.
In 1979, Mrs. Middleton moved to Virginia Beach, where she completed a master's degree in communication studies at Regent University. At the same time, she was involved in the alternative energy movement, and an active participant in Norfolk Club 686 of Toastmasters International. Mrs. Middleton was a member of the Kempsville (Virginia) Presbyterian Church, where she taught second-grade Sunday school and served on numerous committees.
She is survived by her daughters, Susan Terry Middleton of Ashfield, Mass., and Leslie Butler Middleton of Charlottesville, Va.; two sons, David Blakeslee Middleton of New York City, and George D.P. Middleton of Carlisle, Mass.; two granddaughters, Lauren Kathleen Middleton of Littleton, Mass., and Kaya Lindsay Middleton of New York City; and her niece, Aletheia Meredith Mystea, of Fort Collins, Colo.
Funeral services were held Sept. 29 at the Kempsville Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach. A memorial service in New York City is being planned for the spring of 2003. Donations in her memory may be made to the Concord Family and Youth Services of Acton, Mass., or the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Kenneth Clark "Bud" Adams

Kenneth Clark "Bud" Adams, 81, of Ojai, died Monday, Oct. 14, 2002 at Acacias Care Center in Ojai, following a long illness. He was born Nov. 12, 1920 in the San Fernando Valley, and lived in Ojai for 17 years, coming from Hawthorne, Calif.
Mr. Adams was a carpenter for the Los Angeles School District for 25 years. He was a member of the Ojai Masonic Lodge No. 663 F. & A.M., and a member of the Ojai Eastern Star Lodge No. 528.
He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Lillian, of Ojai; daughter Beverly Toby of Simi Valley; stepdaughter Nancy Nordstrom of Ojai; stepsons Ronald Briggs of Ojai, James Briggs of Grants Pass, Ore., Frank Briggs of Las Vegas, Nev., and Howard Briggs of Vancouver, Wash.; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services will be held Friday, Oct. 18, at 1 p.m. at Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai, with the Ojai Masonic Lodge officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home, Ojai.

George Carpenter

George Carpenter, 96, of Oak View, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2002 at his home with family and friends at his side. He was born March 11, 1906 to Donald and Minnie Carpenter, who chose to leave their Michigan home and move to the open prairies of Saskatchewan in western Canada when he was a small boy. Repeated crop failures forced his parents to abandon the homestead and they moved to Montana to try again. Loading their household goods and four children into a covered wagon, they made the arduous, three-week journey southwest. They arrived in Havre, Montana, in September of 1914, where they filed for another homestead. Carpenter grew up in this environment, where your horse was your only transportation.
When he was 19, the family moved back to Michigan, and he had various occupations there, including several years with the Michigan State Police. He always had the urge to return west, and did so in the late '30s, going to work for the Department of the Interior as a predatory animal hunter for six and a half years.
He came to California in 1940, and eventually became a foreman for part of Casitas Ranch. He saw Lake Casitas become a reality on land where he had raised hay. In later years, he worked at the lake, becoming its first ranger. Mr. Carpenter retired in 1968 and moved to Oregon. Upon the death of his wife, Jessie Carpenter, he moved back to California in 1991 to be with his sister and family, where he lived until his death.
He is survived by two daughters and two sons: Thelma Smith of Castle Rock, Wash., Clara Borden of Redmond, Ore., Nelson Smith of Castle Rock, Wash., and Verle Smith of Graham, Wash.; eight grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.
At his request, there were no services, just a family gathering with prayers of gratitude and celebration of his life.
Arrangements were under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.

Annie Barclay (MacPherson) Dixon

Annie Barclay (MacPherson) Dixon, 87, of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, died Thursday, Oct. 3, 2002 at her home. She was born May 15, 1915 in Vancouver, B.C.
Mr. and Mrs. Dixon and their children moved to Ojai in 1958, and then relocated to Qualicum Beach in 1968.
Mrs. Dixon is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Dana and William Huffman of Ojai; son Donald Dixon of Victoria, B.C.; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, David Dixon, on Sept. 2, 1996.
Memorial donations may be made to Smart Start Child Development Center, P.O. Box 1208, Ojai, CA 93024, or to the Vancouver Island Regional Library, 101-660-Primrose, Qualicum Beach, B.C., V9K 2G5.