It’s amazing how one person can change your life. Our wife, mother, grandmother, great-grand mother, sister, aunt and friend, Connie is that person.
Born on 1/16/45, Connie grew up with her 4 brothers and 3 sisters and attended local schools in Santa Barbara.
She graduated from SBHS in 1962.
Connie worked for Santa Barbara Research Center/Raytheon as a QA Engineer until her retirement at age 55.
On 2/18/13 Connie took her last breath surrounded by her family and friends after a 6 month battle with cancer.
Connie is survived by her husband of 23 years, Joe Castillo, her children, Edward Deras, Dianne Deras Kirkwood (Ben) and Rachel Patane (Tom), her grandchildren Kyle and Ally Patane and her great-grandson Zachary Deras. She is preceded in death by her parents, family members and grandson Daniel Deras who welcomed her with open arms into heaven.
Connie’s many hobbies included softball, travel, bowling, tennis and shopping. Connie loved walks on the beach, chilling on her hammock and had a deep appreciation for nature.
Connie supported her kids throughout their lives. She volunteered in various organizations and sponsored many kids for various camps around town. This was almost always done anonymously.
We would like to thank our family and friends for their support during this difficult time. A heartfelt thanks to Dr. Abate, the staff at Mission Terrace and Serenity House.
A potluck celebration of Connie’s life will be held at Leadbetter Beach on 3/2/13 from noon-5pm. Please feel free to bring a dish to share. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Team Connie at American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Santa Barbara (relayforlife.org) and/or join the team to help fight cancer in Connie’s memory.
We love you Hun, mom, grammy, sister and we will meet again…
