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The Oceanview Hillside Above PCH: Some People Call It Home

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Inside a cement bunker tucked into the hillside near at the base of Potrero Canyon, a transient has transformed this small room into a bedroom.
Inside a cement bunker tucked into the hillside near at the base of Potrero Canyon, a transient has transformed this small room into a bedroom.
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There are two ways to live along Corona del Mar in the Huntington Palisades neighborhood. One is to reside in a multi-million-dollar house, the second is to pitch a tent on the hillside below. Last Friday, while LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore and a Caltrans crew were doing a clean-up of homeless camps behind the 15-ft. wall along Pacific Coast Highway between Chautauqua and Potrero Canyon, this reporter and a photographer followed a trail up the hill. About halfway between PCH and the backyards of Corona del Mar homes, we found a “town” of six tents in close proximity to each other. This area was left undisturbed by authorities because it was unclear under whose jurisdiction it fell–county, city, Caltrans or private. A woman was piling large dead branches up in front of her “yard.” When asked how she was, she replied, “Great.” She appeared to be in her mid-20s and explained she was clearing the path as well as making a fence around her tent, leaving only a small entrance into the area. “They’re my unwelcome mat,” she said. Her name is Veronica Roberts and she has lived at this location for a year and a half. “I live by myself,” she said. “Well, except for the critters, the opossums, skunks, rats, lizards, squirrels, birds and one snake.” She explained that by making the entrance to her site small, it was less likely that someone coming up the trail at night drunk or on drugs would find her. “There’s some creepy people in this world,” she said. Roberts added that she didn’t drink, that sometimes she would smoke marijuana but that was all. As we spoke, she had a hand-rolled cigarette in her hand, but didn’t light it. “I’m from Northern California,” she said. “I went to Cal State Northridge and I was majoring in journalism, but I’m about a semester away from getting my degree.” Roberts said she worked for AOL in San Diego and had a boyfriend, but they broke up. She lived in her car for a while, but it got towed away. “Stuff happens,” she said. “The homeless don’t have a lot of choices,” said Roberts, who prefers living in her tent to a homeless shelter. She receives checks from Social Services and has voice mail. “I walk to the bus and grocery stores.” Her mom and dad died about four years ago, Roberts said. She has two brothers, but hasn’t talked to them in a while and doesn’t know if they’re looking for her. “I’m trying to get money for tuition for city college and to eat,” she said. “It’s not easy. I read a lot, every free publication I can find.” Roberts is surrounded by five other tents spaced up the hill. Does she get along with the other occupants? “One of the guys is sort of a jerk, but everyone’s a kind of stay-by-themself person.” She added, “If you want to talk to more homeless, go to Sunset and PCH, there’s a lot of people there.” A short distance up the hill from her tent was a second tent. Even though the trail was steep and overgrown with brush, low-hanging branches had been propped up with wood pieces, making the trail easier to climb. Between the second and third tent a wood railing had been constructed along the trail. No one was home in either of those two Coleman tents. Further up the hill, wood pieces had been inserted into the ground which served as steps to help reach the next area, which consisted of three additional Coleman tents with tarps stretched over them. None of the occupants was in their tents. Each “home” site was more elaborate than the last, the sixth one being especially well-established with tarps on the ground under the tent and in front of the tent, like a make-shift patio. The “kitchen” had a table, a burner, pots and pans, a griddle, knife set, oils and spices. On one side of the campsite water trickled down the hill. The occupant of the site had fashioned a water-holding bin, which made a kind of sink for washing. Residents in this “village” appeared to take great pride in not letting garbage accumulate around the site, unlike the area directly behind the wall adjacent to the nursery on the corner of Chautauqua and PCH. That area was filled with bike frames, a Cartier box, a Coleman tent and two plastic chairs, numerous tarps and blankets, and drug paraphernalia such as glass pipes (used for doing rock cocaine and crystal meth) and needles. Caltrans court-appointed community service workers loaded the trash into dump trucks. A Caltrans worker had gone in a few days earlier to leave notices behind the wall that prohibited camping. The worker, who did not wish to be identified, said, “They’ve moved out of their tents, there were a lot more when I put up the notices.” Still, Caltrans filled three trucks with trash. At one of the sites, the ground was scorched where there had been a campfire. Caltrans workers were also in the process of cleaning up another area above the large trash deposits. It was a steep climb from the highway; however, a rope wrapped around a tree branch assisted climbing. At the top of the slope was a small clearing with several plywood planks balanced precariously on branches protruding from the hillside. Stepping out onto the planks revealed a breathtaking view of the ocean and beach, including lifeguard tower 16. Items scattered about the clearing included deodorant, tent stakes, and a discarded copy of the Steve Miller Band CD, “Living in the USA.” Caltrans workers said that they had already cleared out a tent. Workers tossed large bags filled with trash and brush down the hillside to the trucks below. At the end of the wall, on the hillside near Potrero Canyon, is a concrete bunker with several small rooms hidden behind a heavy green blanket that’s used for a door. One of the rooms had been turned into a bedroom. On one wall was a previous citation that Officer Moore had given on June 11, on another a Hustle-type poster. In a second room there was a makeshift table that held chocolate doughnuts as well as several condiments. Although the occupant wasn’t home on Friday, on Sunday he was spotted looking out his “door” as cars drove by on PCH. (Intern Jack Rosner contributed to this article.)

Five Local Debutantes Honored

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In the midst of June graduations and springtime celebrations, Las Madrinas announced the 32 families and their daughters who will be honored for their community service and their special commitment to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles at the Las Madrinas Ball on December 21. Among the debutantes are Palisades residents Julie Maria Youngblood and Jordan Maria Youngblood, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Ben Youngblood; Gillian Marilyn St. John, daughter of Mrs. Blair Anne Powers St. John and Mr. Eugene McLaughlin St. John, Jr.; Dana Lynne Trapp, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Coleman Trapp; and Meghan Kathleen Hinds, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Desmond Joseph Hinds, Jr. On May 12, the families gathered at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to hear about the $3-million Las Madrinas Endowment for Cardiovascular Research, under the direction of Dr. Ivan Vesely. Vesely described the groundbreaking research being funded by the Las Madrinas Endowment, focused on developing new directions in the field of tissue engineering. Vesely is also developing and refining a new method of 3D computer modeling that will enable cardiothoracic surgeons to practice procedures before they are performed on patients, thus improving the outcome of cardiac surgical procedures. Following the meeting, the families toured the hospital and Vesely’s laboratory at the Saban Research Institute. Las Madrinas has supported the cause of pediatric medicine for over seventy years and holds the distinction of being the first Affiliate Group of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. In 1939, Las Madrinas began a tradition of honoring families who have demonstrated a commitment to the Los Angeles community by presenting their daughters at the annual Las Madrinas Ball. Funds contributed are derived from donations made in honor of the young women and their families, friends and Las Madrinas members.

Graduates

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DAVID CRIST, the son of Lowell Crist and Jane Crist, both of Pacific Palisades, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. David spent his junior abroad in Sydney, Australia, attending the University of New South Wales, where he managed to find time to travel and improve his surfing skills. Since graduation, he has been traveling in Europe, and will return to the Los Angeles area later this year. David, who attended Crossroads High School, was an Eagle Scout and served as a senior patrol leader with Troop 223 in the Palisades. o o o SAMUEL McGEE MILDER, the son of Michael Milder and Maureen B. McGee, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Bates College on May 28. Samuel spent his junior year studying abroad in Madrid and Barcelona. He is a 2002 graduate of Concord High School. o o o MELISSA HUNTER, the daughter of Martha and Craig Hunter, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theater from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on June 16. She maintained a 3.75 GPA. Melissa is an alumnus of Saint Matthew’s Parish School and Palisades High School (class of 2002). o o o MICHAEL A. FISHER graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, on May 20. o o o TYLER ZICK, son of Nathalie and Tom Zick, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Santa Clara University on June 17. Tyler minored in English and Italian, and spent two semesters studying abroad in Florence, Italy. He also played Club Volleyball for three years in college. Tyler plans to seek employment, perhaps in the wine industry, in Palo Alto. Tyler is a graduate of St. Matthew’s School and St. Monica’s High School.

D. J. Waldie’s L.A. Permits His Restlessness to Be Still

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The cover of D.J. Waldie’s “Where We Are Now: Notes from Los Angeles” (Angel City) distills a collage of Los Angeles as a place of unbounded land, limitless dreams, personal reinvention and longing, all set against an endless blue sky. Waldie’s essays reflect his own native Angeleno’s view of a city “that is struggling with self-definition and has been for a very long time.” He will be offering insight, history and prognostics tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books. Waldie, author of “Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir” and “Real City: Downtown Los Angeles Inside/Out,” dissects the social, political and cultural body of Los Angeles. While he’s recognized for his knowledge and collective memory, he thinks of himself more as a “repackager” of the new interpreters of LA. His book reviews and opinion pieces appear in the Los Angeles Times, and other essays have been published in numerous magazines. The first essay in “Where We Are” was written in 1999, the most recent was written in the first months of 2005, but each chapter remains relevant for its depth of understanding and for providing an invaluable context. “It seemed appropriate to collect my essays on the environment, government reform, dramatic changes in demographics, the Los Angeles River,” he told the Palisadian-Post. Unlike other major cities, Los Angeles has always been hard to define. “We imagine that large, charismatic buildings such as Disney Hall and the cathedral define a community,” he ways. “They give it a certain style, stature in rankings of important cities, but won’t define what the city has become. I think something else will. “I have a feeling that something is changing about Los Angeles. There are the demographics and ethnic changes, but in reality, L. A. is finished. It is no longer possible to exit to the edge of LA.’to build a new Lakewood, a new Chatsworth. We’ve used up the available geography.” A good place to begin reading Waldie’s book is to learn the history of the river, which traces in several essays in the book. The Spanish, who claimed El Pueblo de Los Angeles, situated their outpost along the Porci’ncula which fed crops while establishing its wily, erratic behavior of cyclical flooding. As the city grew, the river became the hierarchical baseline’the poorer folk lived in the flood plain. While Anglo L.A. literally moved up the hill to lots on Bunker Hill, California Heights and Mount Pleasant, the Mestizo and immigrant residents lived at the foot of the hills, on bottomland that flooded about every 10 years. “When speculators subdivided the Adams district, Hollywood and Beverly Hills, the new suburbs conformed to the pattern already set for the Anglo city’go west, away from the river.” The far-flung city foreclosed forever the option that Los Angeles would look familiar, like New York or Chicago, with an identifiable center, cohesive transportation system and intersecting communities. “One of the truths of New York City is that you can go from Park Avenue to Hell’s Kitchen in a few minutes. You can go from wealth to working class to rough areas and come to understand something about all of them,” Waldie says. “Parts of L.A. are balkanized, walled off because of difficulties of connectedness.” In reconsidering our city, Waldie believes that it is our shared stories that bring us together. He offers history lessons that help clarify why Los Angeles is the way it is. And he notes changes that give a glimpse of the sort of city we are becoming. “We can’t talk about L. A. the way we used to. L.A. is not L.A. any more. It is a different place economically, physically. We no longer have the manufacturing and white collar economy that made the city in the past. The aviation industry is gone, there are no Fortune 500 companies headquartered here.” Waldie believes that the new city hasn’t come into view yet because we haven’t learned how to see it yet. “I don’t think L.A. will be a whole lot different in the years ahead, but there are some changes ahead that will help clarify.” The gradual process of reforming local government, such as the new city charter, neighborhood councils and local planning commissions, gives the impression that the city’s political leaders are trying to give voice to the disparate regions of the city. He is impressed with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and credits him with “bringing eyeballs back to local government,” with the caution that “I want his platform to be as energetic as he is.” Waldie tackles transportation, housing and environmental issues in his carefully crafted prose, which Patt Morrison characterizes in the book’s foreword “as deceptively and richly minimalist as Jackie Kennedy’s wardrobe.” A true L.A. apostle, Waldie lives in the house his parents bought in 1946 in Lakewood’the humble little suburb that epitomizes for him what Los Angeles promised and promises. “I am convinced that the suburban tract house of the region did and does represent an achievement of enormous significance. There was a moment in the American experience when the working class confronted a future of walkup tenement life. After World War II, millions of working class people came down from the fourth-floor tenement into a house. Millions of lives benefited from that opportunity.”

Paly Swimmers Drop Time at First Long Course Meet

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The Palisades-Malibu YMCA swim team journeyed to Santa Barbara July 1 to participate in the three-day long course Semana Nautica Meet. ‘It was definitely a fun meet,’ said Paly assistant coach Caroline Ryan. ‘It was the first long course for many kids, so they set their first best times.’ Jimmy DeMayo, 15, entered the race with no time in six events: the 50-, 100-, and 200-meter Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Butterfly. In each event, he had respectable first-time swims, especially since he was competing against swimmers from as far away as Arizona. ‘We don’t practice in a meter or long course pool,’ Paly head coach Brian Timmerman said. ‘It can be daunting, especially for our younger swimmers.’ Timmerman was pleased with the efforts of many of his 10-and-under swimmers. At the meet, plaques were awarded to individual swimmers for overall points earned. The higher the place, the more points earned. Elizabeth Edel placed second overall for 8-year-old girls. She took second in the 50 Freestyle, fourth in the 50 Backstroke, third in the 50 Breaststroke and fourth in the 50 Butterfly. Seven-year-old Grace Heck swam the 50 Freestyle and did well enough to earn an individual plaque for her performance. In the 9 & 10-year-old female category, nine-year-old Mardell Ramirez, who was a standout for Paly throughout the short course season, swam long course for the first time and finished 11th out of 50 swimmers in three events. Kate Heck and Rachel Martin were also first-time long course swimmers and came away with decent times in their events. Ellen Silka and Jayme Rossie swam near the middle of the pack for girls that age. ‘It was the best season times so far,’ Ryan said. Mara Silka, Sabrina Giglio and Olivia Kirkpatrick represented Paly in the 11 &12-year-old category. Giglio in particular had a strong meet, shaving 11 seconds off of her 50 Freestyle time and cutting almost 13 seconds off of her time in the 100 Freestyle. The group of girls who joined Paly’s swim team as 8 and 9-year-olds are now 14 and 15 and continue to be friends and competitors, including Jennifer and Kimberly Tartavull, Allison Merz, Shelby Pascoe, Jessica Schem, Hayley Hacker, Rebecca Ebert and Samantha Rosenbaum, which led Timmerman to conclude, ‘We had a team presence there. That team atmosphere is important when your doing good and when you’re not doing well.’ ‘The swimmers stuck around to support other swimmers,’ Ryan agreed. “It was a really great meet.’ Jennifer Tartavull swam the 800 Freestyle for the first time and clocked an AA time of 10:51.09, just missing a qualifying mark for the Junior Olympics. Allison Merz took her 50 Freestyle time down from an already fast 30.30 seconds to 30.21. For the boys, Paly’s Nicholas Edel earned a high-point plaque by taking fifth in the 11 & 12-year-old group. Leland Frankel, a three-year team member, had a particularly good meet with significant time drops in six events. He dropped six seconds in the 100 Freestyle, 15 seconds in the 100 Backstroke, six seconds in the 50 Breaststroke, nine seconds in the 100 Breaststroke, nine seconds in the 50 Butterfly and three seconds in the 50 Freestyle. Noah Martin also had time drops in his events–the 100 Freestyle, the 50 Backstroke and the 100 Breaststroke, in which he established a new best time. Twelve-year-old Jordon Wilimovsky dropped time in the 50 Butterfly and finished in the middle of the group of 40 swimmers in the events he entered. Younger brother Alec Wilimovsky, 9, was the only Paly male in his age category and dropped time in the 100 Freestyle. The next long course meet for Paly is the COLA meet July 21-23. Coach Timmerman has urged his swimmers to sign up for a stroke or distance they might not normally swim as a way of testing their individual capabilities and strengths.

Mustang All-Stars Play for Championship

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PONY BASEBALL DISTRICT PLAYOFFS

For four innings, it looked like the Pacific Palisades Mustang all-stars were on their way to clinching a berth in the Pony Baseball Sectional tournament. They enjoyed a 3-0 lead over Torrance in the championship game of Tuesday evening’s District playoffs and left-hander Jackson Bantle was pitching a gem. Suddenly, the Torrance bats came alive and when the dust settled after the top of the fifth inning, the host team trailed, 6-3. Torrance held on for a 7-4 victory at the Field of Dreams and secured the automatic bid to the Sectionals, the second stage of the Pony National tournament. Palisades, hosting the District playoffs for the first time ever, played Paramount for second place Wednesday (result unavailable at press time), with the winner joining Torrance at the Sectionals, beginning Friday at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach. Palisades came from behind to beat Paramount, 8-6, in the first round last Friday, but Paramount rebounded to reach the final of the loser’s bracket with a 12-3 win over Pico Rivera Tuesday. Torrance defeated Cheviot Hills, 8-2, and Pico Rivera, 10-0, to reach the championship game. ‘I told the kids beforehand that we had these guys right where we wanted them,’ said Palisades head coach Bill Elder, whose team had lost to Torrance, 16-3, in a practice game several weeks before, when Palisades was without several of its players. ‘Torrance beat us pretty convincingly last time so I figured they might come into this game overconfident. I really felt that if we played our best we could beat them.’ Keeping opposing batters guessing with a variety of pitches, Bantle did not give up a hit through the first four innings, allowing just two walks and striking out six. By rule he was not available to throw Wednesday because he went more than three innings on Tuesday, but Elder said it was a chance he had to take. ‘Jackson was pitching great and we were ahead, so why not let him keep going? Sure, it was a gamble but you have to give the other team credit. Our strategy was to make them hit the ball and they found some gaps. They won, but at least we made them earn it.’ Palisades wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Wylie Beetley reached on an error, promptly stole second, then scored when teammate Brett Elder hit a come-backer to the pitcher, whose errant throw to first rolled into right field. The home team tacked on two more runs in the third when Paul Kirkpatrick and Matt McGeagh each scored on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded. ‘I was proud of the way everyone played,’ Bill Elder said. ‘Our defense was awesome and we capitalized on a few mistakes they made. I really think these were the two best teams playing for the championship.’ In its first game against Paramount on Saturday, Palisades fell behind 5-0 in the first inning and trailed 6-1 after two innings, at which point Bill Elder huddled his players up and reminded them that there were still four innings left. ‘The first thing I said was, ‘So what, there goes our shutout,” Elder joked. ‘I think that sort of relaxed them. They could easily have just packed it in and given up but they didn’t. They showed a lot of character and poise by coming back.’ In danger of dropping to the loser’s bracket, where it would be one more loss from elimination, Palisades rallied behind clutch relief pitching by Brett Elder and Beetley. Palisades chipped away at Paramount’s lead and pulled to within 6-3 by the fourth inning. In the top of the third, McGeagh made a diving catch at second base, then third baseman Cade Hulce threw to catcher Kirkpatrick, who blocked home plate and tagged out a Paramount runner to prevent Palisades from falling further behind. Palisades erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth, the key hit being a two-out, two-strike double by Joe Rosenbaum that scored two runs and broke a 6-6 tie. Bantle fielded a sharply hit grounder down the first base line and stepped on the bag to end the game. On Sunday, Palisades’ offense was clicking on all cylinders in a 12-2 rout of Wilmington that was stopped after four innings because of the mercy rule. McGeagh had three hits as Pali scored seven times in the first inning and two in both the second and third to build a commanding 11-1 lead. Beetley, Elder, McGeagh and Justin Ruder each had multiple hits. Chris Duval’s sacrifice fly to center scored Ruder to give Pali a 10-run lead and end the game. Bill Elder, who led the Cubs to the PPBA Mustang Division championship in June, added that Drew Pion, Alex Flutie, Jackson Kogan and Dawson Rosenberg were also key contributors in Palisades’ first three games. ‘We were up against eight of the best 10-and-under teams in the area and we made it to the championship game on our home field,’ he said. ‘You can’t ask for much more than that.”

Breathing in a New Life

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Stenzel Sisters Survived Cystic Fibrosis to Compete in Transplant Games

Anabel Stenzel (right) gets a kiss from her twin sister, Isabel, after her gold-medal effort in the 200 Individual Medley at the 2006 Transplant Games in Louisville, Kentucky.
Anabel Stenzel (right) gets a kiss from her twin sister, Isabel, after her gold-medal effort in the 200 Individual Medley at the 2006 Transplant Games in Louisville, Kentucky.

By MICHAEL KAPLAN Special to the Palisadian-Post It’s your 10th birthday. You’re giddy at the sight of the frosting-covered cake, the familiar verses of the “Happy Birthday” song tickling your ear. Yet you can’t blow out your candles. No, they aren’t trick candles, you just can’t blow hard enough to extinguish the 10 tiny flames. Now you know what native Palisadians Anabel Stenzel and Isabel Stenzel-Byrnes felt like in 1982. Both were born with Cystic Fibrosis, a serious lung disease that inhibits breathing and hinders the development of the lungs. Rather than succumb to their condition, however, the identical twins learned to cope with it and, eventually, to triumph over it. A testament to their resiliency was their participation in this year’s USA Transplant Games June 16-21 in Louisville, Kentucky. Consisting of about 1,800 athletes who are organ recipients, the Transplant Games are a bi-annual meet sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation. Individuals compete for an area team in athletic events ranging from swimming to cycling to court sports and track and field. Competing for the Northern California squad, the Stenzel sisters made up half of the 200-meter Medley Relay team that took the gold medal, with Ana swimming the butterfly and Isa the backstroke. Ana also won a gold in the Individual Medley and the siblings were part of the foursome that took silver in the 400 Meter Relay during the track and field segment of the competition. With the average life expectancy for someone suffering from Cystic Fibrosis being between 35 and 42 years old, Ana and Isa, both 34, are beating the odds. Although they grew up in the Palisades, they now live within four miles of each other in Redwood City, a suburb of San Francisco, where they work at the Lucile-Packard Children’s Hospital. Until the age of 10, their disease did not faze the twins. “We were pretty normal,” Isa recalls. “We’d walk down the bluffs around Temescal and swim in the ocean and we’d go boogie boarding. That was one of our favorite activities.” While attending Marquez Elementary, the girls participated in gymnastics and joined the swim team at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. However, their disease still lingered and they had to perform respiratory treatment on each other three to four times a day and make occasional visits to the hospital. “It really helped having someone around who was going through the same thing,” Ana says. “Not only did we physically share the disease, we shared it emotionally. It was a symbiotic relationship, especially when we would have to help each other with the respiratory treatment. We grew together and learned to handle it.” When they were 10, Ana and Isa’s condition worsened. They had to be hospitalized frequently and could not muster the energy to be as active as they had been in the past. “We tried to play sports, but with our illness it was hard to be competitive,” Isa says. “For this reason, we kind of fell back on our studies and sort of became nerds.” “We tried to be normal teenagers,” Ana adds. “We hung out with friends at Santa Monica Place and in the village. The great thing about growing up in the Palisades was that everyone was very kind and understanding of our illness. We never got teased or mistreated because of it.” After graduating from Palisades High in 1990, they both decided to attend Stanford University. It was that summer before their first semester in college that Ana’s condition got progressively worse. “I needed oxygen to walk, and everyday I would come home directly after class exhausted and had to take a nap,” Ana remembers. At age 25, she listed herself for a bilateral lung transplant. “Leading up to the surgery I was scared because there were times I couldn’t breathe and I was constantly having panic attacks,” Ana says. “I was scared that I would be too sick too get a transplant or that they would not find a lung for me while I was alive.” After a nine-hour surgery in June 2000 at Stanford, Ana’s battle with Cystic Fibrosis finally ended and she drew in her first pure breath of air. In one way, however, it was bittersweet because her twin still fought the disease everyday of her life. The same surgery became a serious consideration for Isa just before her 30th birthday when she began to suffer hemorrhaging in her lungs. “I got progressively sicker and I knew my lungs were getting old and weak,” she says. “I couldn’t breathe.” In February 2004, Isa went on a ventilator. With her life on the verge of ending, a lung arrived in the nick of time from an 18-year old man who had been killed in a car crash. As was her sister’s, Isa’s surgery was successful and she, at last, was given a new lease on life. After their surgeries, Ana and Isa looked to the outdoors and the world of exercise to increase their strength and enjoy the experiences they had been robbed of during their battle with Cystic Fibrosis. “I had always known the benefit of exercise,” Ana says. “It expanded my lungs, helped me grow stronger and feel better. I started setting goals for myself. ” Eight months after her surgery, Ana began biking 10 miles every day and in 2002, a friend told her about the Transplant Games, which she participated in for the first time later that year. “At first I didn’t know what to expect,” she admits. “I trained for three to four months but I didn’t win any medals.” After the Games in 2002, Ana joined the Redwood City women’s swim team in preparation for the 2004 Games. In the meantime, she climbed Half Dome in Yosemite and backpacked 20 miles on the weekends. She currently lives with their older brother, Ryuta, a 1988 PaliHi alum. Inspired by her sister and understanding the privilege of exercise, Isa decided to compete in the 2004 Games in Minneapolis alongside her sister. “I could only participate in a few events, but it was a great opportunity to meet recipients and donors from all across the country and celebrate life with so many people who were on the brink of losing it,” says Isa, who met her husband, Andrew, while attending Stanford and married him in 1998. Ana took home two medals in track and field in 2004 and competed in swimming competitions for the first time. Both sisters hope to compete in future Transplant Games. They believe they owe it to their donors who have blessed them with not only new lungs, but a new passion for living, and a chance to compete–something they never experienced growing up in the Palisades. “Although there is the natural stress that comes with competition at the Games, there is also a great community feeling of all these people who have experienced so much,” Isa reflects. “It really is a celebration.” Ana and Isa return to the Palisades at least twice a year to visit their parents and do a little boogie boarding. Of course, it is easier now that they can breathe in the fresh ocean air. “The Palisades is our home, the place where we grew up,” Ana reminisces. “The people there are family, and they helped us get through our fight.”

George Tauxe, 92; 42-Year Resident

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George John Tauxe, a Pacific Palisades resident since 1954, died July 9 at the age of 92. George met his wife of nearly 70 years, Wilma, in an English literature class at Glendale Junior College in 1933. When he asked her to be his date at a Science Club party at Bob (Bob’s Big Boy) Wein’s house, Wilma said “Yes,” because George was a friend of Wilma’s best friend’s boyfriend. The couple were married in a little Episcopal church in Glendale on August 29, 1936. After receiving his advanced degree, teaching civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, George was offered a teaching position at UCLA. The offer was accepted and the couple moved to the Palisades in 1954. George taught at UCLA for 32 years while Wilma taught preschool at the Methodist Church Preschool for 16 years. Still active in retirement, George served on the Palisades AARP board and on the Methodist adult fellowship group. When his health was good, he and Wilma enjoyed hitting the open road in their RV, with the High Sierras as their favorite destination. George was predeceased by his two sons, George and John. He is survived by Wilma, granddaughter Lianne and grandson John.

Roland Jaderberg, 81

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Roland Jaderberg passed away from lung cancer on March 13 at his home in Pacific Palisades. He was 81. Born in 1924, Roland was the second-youngest of eight children and grew up on the south side of Chicago during the Great Depression. A veteran of World War II, he spent two and a half years in the U.S. Army, 10 and a half months of which were spent as a prisoner of war in Germany. Upon returning to the United States, Roland worked for 27 years as an electrician at Ford Motor Company in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He took an early retirement and together with his wife Lillian, traveled the country buying older homes in beautiful locations, renovating them, living in them for a while, then moving on to another location. Roland enjoyed golf, bowling and playing guitar. A kind, unassuming and well-liked man, he was a member of the American Legion. He is survived by his loving family: Lillian, his wife of 50 years; daughters Linda St-Cyr, a rocket scientist at Boeing, and Barbara Schaffer, a molecular biologist at UCLA; grandchildren Anne-Elisa Yeager, David Schaffer and Gaetah St-Cyr, Jr.; sons-in-law Gaetan St-Cyr and Mark Schaffer; and his sister Doris Papesh of Chicago. A memorial service with military honors was held at Los Angeles Veteran’s Cemetery in April. Any donations in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Janie Lardner Wiley, 93

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Janie Lardner Wiley, a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away peacefully on June 29 at the age of 93. She was predeceased by her husband of 50 years, Ernest E. Wiley, Jr. Her warmth and good humor will be missed by friends and family. Janie Wiley was very active in the Palisades community. She was a member of a number of local organizations, including both the Pacific Palisades and Brentwood Garden Clubs. She was honored five times for winning the Fourth of July Theme contest. She is survived by three sons, Ernest E. Wiley III of Sherman Oaks, Lynford L. Wiley of Sarasota, Florida, and Spencer L. Wiley of Sea Island, Georgia, as well as her grandchildren, Lynford L. Wiley, Jr., Anne W. Alphonso, and Dr. Henrietta L. Wiley. Private services are planned. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

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