Saturday Obituaries

11/5/05

PEDERSEN, Anna Margrethe

86, of Santa Barbara passed away the morning of October 31, 2005 after a brief illness.

Anna Margrethe, known her entire life by family and friends as "Grethe," was born in Ebberup, Denmark on February 11, 1919. As a young girl, Grethe dreamed of living in California. After World War II, she persuaded her husband Willy to make the move, and in 1949 they immigrated. After stops in Iowa, Massachusetts and Indiana, they settled in Santa Barbara in 1953. Shortly afterward, they moved to their new home in Montecito.

Grethe left the working world when her children were born, but she never slowed down. She was very active in church and donated countless hours to charitable causes. She sewed baby clothes for poor children in Africa, prepared and served food for homeless families at Transition House, and was always available to help elderly and handicapped people with their shopping or other daily needs.

In her leisure time, Grethe loved to create elaborate floral needlepoint and work in her garden. She loved the outdoors and would spend hours walking in the Montecito foothills. While Santa Barbara became Grethe's home for more than fifty years, she never lost her love of travel and a summer never passed without a trip to a far-off place, in North America or abroad. The greatest joy in Grethe's life was her family, especially her four grandchildren.

Grethe lost her beloved husband Willy in 2004. They were married for 59 years. She is survived by her two sons, Lars Pedersen of Davis, California and Hans Pedersen of Santa Barbara, their wives Maria Pedersen (Lars) and Rebecca Holland (Hans), four grandchildren, Desiree, Niels, Christian and Olivia, and her sister Karen Hansen of Denmark.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, November 11 at 3:30 PM at Montecito Covenant Church, 671 Cold Springs Road, Montecito. The family requests that anyone wishing to honor Grethe do so by making a donation in her name to Transition House of Santa Barbara.

SILVA, William (Bill) Russell

61, passed away on Thursday morning, November 3, 2005, after a year long battle with leukemia. Bill was born on October 17, 1944 in Santa Barbara, CA to Reggie and Ida Silva. He attended Dolores Catholic School, Santa Barbara High School (where he graduated in 1962) and Santa Barbara City College. Bill had a long career with General Telephone Co. that spanned over thirty years. He retired from their management in 1994. Bill was also a member of the Santa Barbara chapter of the Elks for several years and was an active member of the S.B. board of Historical Arms Association.

He is survived by his loving wife, Marlene Ann (Lopez) of 40 years (they married in June 1965) and their children, Carlene, Randy and Krista Silva. Bill also leaves behind six grandchildren, Kayleigh, Skyler and Savannah Murphy, Kianna and Kaiden Silva, and Meghan Manalis of Santa Barbara. In addition, he is survived by his brother, James R. Silva of Santa Barbara.

Bill enjoyed traveling around the globe with his wife Marlene and spending time with his children and grandchildren going on various outings and out to breakfast and lunch. Since he was a teenager, he was an avid car enthusiast and enjoyed building and racing "hot rods" with his son, Randy.

Bill was a loving and gentle spirit who had a wonderful sense of humor and who was generous to everyone he knew. He will be dearly missed and will be remembered by all those who he had touched.

The family of William R. Silva would like to thank Dr. Mukul Gupta and the 6th central floor nursing staff of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Hospice of Santa Barbara for all the wonderful care and support he was given during his numerous stays.

Friends and family are invited to pay their respects at McDermott-Crockett Mortuary, 2435 De La Vina, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 6, 2005. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 7, 2005 at Calvary Cemetery.

Donations can be made in Bill's name to the Leukemia Research Foundation, 2700 Patriot Boulevard, Suite #100, Glenview, IL 60026-8021.