Mary Ellen Barnard passed away peacefully on March 11th at her home in Solvang, California. Born Mary Ellen Leary in Sacramento on December 8, 1934, she was raised at the Leary Ranch on Grand Island in the Sacramento River Delta. Mary Ellen attended grade school and high school in Courtland and later was admitted to Stanford University, where she graduated in 1956 with a degree in History. On a blind date at Stanford, Mary Ellen met a law student, Tom Barnard of Santa Monica, whom she married on September 22, 1956.
In Santa Monica, Mary Ellen and Tom raised their four children and participated in a full life of social activities, tennis, golf and community service with the Santa Monica Rotary and Breakfast Clubs, the Teen Tennis Program, and many other charitable organizations.
In 1983, Mary Ellen and Tom moved to La Querencia Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. Mary Ellen volunteered with the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and the Alisal Golf Club, and was a founding member of the local YMCA. Mary Ellen was an avid cook and entertainer and would host gatherings with proceeds supporting the local hospital, YMCA and Rotary Club. She was honored twice as a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. Mary Ellen enjoyed playing tennis, golf, bridge and dominos, gardening, hiking with the Santa Ynez Valley Women’s Hiking group, and traveling with family, friends and the People to People Ambassadors program. In her later years, Mary Ellen became an avid student of art and painted many beautiful watercolor landscape scenes of her travels throughout California and the West. Mary Ellen loved attending and supporting theater and symphony, and was a big fan of the Solvang Theaterfest and her family members’ symphonic performances.
Mary Ellen is survived by her children and their spouses Eileen (Graydon), Mark (Jodi), Kathryn (Ken) and Tom (Marianne); her grandchildren Addie, Chas, Katy, Sydney, Gabrielle, Nicolette, Grace, and Joshua; her two great-grandchildren Aleph and Enso; her brothers Dennis and Michael Leary; and her in-laws John, Ginger and Dick Barnard. Mary Ellen is preceded in death by her husband of 47 years Tom Barnard, her later companion Jim McGuire, her parents Dennis W. and Marie Leary, and her sister Margaret Gualco.
The family would like to thank Mary Ellen’s exceptional team of caregivers who lovingly cared for Mary Ellen in her
final years of life.
A Funeral service will be held at 2pm on Saturday, March 25th, at the Loper Funeral Chapel
(2465 Baseline Ave, Solvang, CA 93463).
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum, the Stuart C. Gildred Family YMCA or your favorite charity.
Loper Funeral Chapel, Directors
