Eileen Mary Morton, beloved wife, mother and grandmother passed away September 29, 2020 at her home in Santa Barbara. Eileen was a long-time, active member of the Santa Barbara lawn bowling community, and Santa Barbara’s British community. Her mother, Evelyn Rowbottam joined the Santa Barbara lawn bowls club in 1939, among the first group of women allowed to join.
Eileen, the youngest of four, was born in Surbiton, Surrey, England in November of 1931. She was seven years old when the family moved to the safety of the United States. Apparently, a fellow passenger on the ocean liner that brought them across the Atlantic told her father of the wonders of Santa Barbara, so when they arrived in New York, he purchased a car and drove his family to the Pacific paradise of Santa Barbara.
Eileen took the usual route through the Santa Barbara school system: Jefferson and Roosevelt grade schools followed by La Cumbre Junior High and Santa Barbara High School-where she graduated in the class of 1949. She then attended Santa Barbara Business college, and upon graduation in 1950 took a job with the Seaside Oil Company on State Street.
In 1952 Eileen married John Turner, a high-school classmate, and for the next two years worked to help John earn his college degree. In January of 1954, son Martin was born and John received his degree in Chemistry. John was then inducted into the army and the young family moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, where John entered Officers Candidate School. In subsequent years, children Glenn, Gail and Kenneth were born.
Tragedy struck the family in 1965 when John died at the age of 33. Eileen then moved her family back to Santa Barbara to be near her parents and siblings. She took a position at Tri-Counties Regional Center and rose in the organization to become secretary to the Medical Director.
She met Jim Morton in 1977 and they were married in 1979. Shortly after they married Jim and Eileen purchased Sandollar Printing and went into business.
Eileen will be greatly missed.
