Annette Elster, loving Mother and Grandmother, passed away on June 16, 2019 of complications from Lewy-Body disease.
Annette was born in San Pedro, California on September 8, 1931, the only child of Morris and M ary Abrams. The family moved to San ta Barbara, California following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, as Morris needed to seek employment elsewhere. He ended up working for many years as a sought-after clothing salesman at the iconic Southwick’s on lower State Street.
Annette attended local schools, graduating from Santa Barbara High school in 1949. During her high school years, she worked as a clerk (and occasional model) for the prestigious Lou Rose dress shop where the who’s who of Santa Barbara and Montecito often shopped.
Upon graduation, she moved to Los Angeles, joined by high school classmates Nancy Cody and Anna Werner. The three “besties” enjoyed the Los Angeles-Hollywood scene, and all told, they were friends for over 75 years. Annette worked as a teller at a bank located on Sunset Boulevard, in a section of Hollywood known as the Sunset Strip. Many actors used to do their banking there, including heart-throb Rock Hudson (mom swooned) and others.
She was introduced (Anna played “matchmaker”) to John Blonder, and they were married in 1953 and their son Michael was born in 1957. John and Annette were divorced in 1959. Not long after that she was introduced through a double-date to Isadore (“Iz”) Elster by mutual friends. Iz was a widower with a young daughter Bobbi, so many dates that these single parents had included Michael and Bobbi!
Iz and Annette were married in January, 1960 and their son Edward was born in 1961. The family lived in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley. Annette and Iz, while busy raising a growing family, managed to develop a mutual passion for “antique hunting” as they called it, also referring to this hobby as hunting for “treasures”. Many a weekend was spent at garage sales and swap meets, and they became very skilled at picking out real collectables, often times in need of repair, something that Annette and Iz happily did mostly themselves.
Annette and Iz had planned on moving to her beloved Santa Barbara after he retired, but unfortunately he died before that could happen. So Annette returned to Santa Barbara on her own, living for most of her remaining years in a lovely cottage on Anapamu Street. Here, she continued her favorite pastime of “antiquing”, scouring the second hand stores for “treasures” (for many years, the Alpha Thrift Store on State Street was one of her favorite “haunts”). She loved finding some valuable pieces of jewelry that the staff had mistakenly thought was costume jewelry and mispriced. She was always amused that the staff knew they had made a mistake with their pricing if Annette bought it!
Also included in her almost-daily walking “route” was the old Whale’s Tail restaurant located in La Arcada Court, one of her most favorite areas of the downtown State Street scene. Annette walked about five miles every day (weather permitting), and she was a familiar fixture along State Street. She loved to stop and talk to tourists and was proud to point out landmarks or share a bit of Santa Barbara history.
She also had very strong opinions and passion for the local community and politics, and was a frequent contributor to the Letters-To-The-Editor section of the Santa Barbara News Press as well as a frequent caller to a local political radio station.
Annette is survived by her three children: Bobbi Rosenquist (Richard-deceased), Michael (Cindy) Elster and Edward Elster (Katheryne). Annette is also survived by her adoring grandchildren: Kaitlyn and Jamie Elster, Alessandra and Nikolas Elster and Karynna Ferreira, Ami (Billy) Bernhardi, and great-grandchildren Lia, Ana, Jenna, and Cozy Bernhardi, and Corina Grant. Grandson Ricky Rosenquist preceded her in death.
Annette loved and cared so deeply and was incredibly proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and of course she worried about them as only a Jewish Grandma could!
Mom (and Grandma and Great-Grandma) we will always love you, and you will be in our hearts forever.
A private memorial and burial service attended by the immediate family to honor Annette’s wishes was held on June 18, 2019.
