I first met Ilona when she was the night nurse for the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) in Santa Barbara, CA around 2007. She had a reputation for being cheerful, always ready to go out to see patients, and, in her downtime, always working on a craft project. It was rumored she even kept a sewing machine under her desk. And, if she wasn’t sewing, she was doing crochet or knitting until the next phone call.
While I met her back in 2007, I did not really get to know her well until October 2022 when she came to an appointment at Quinn Fiduciary Services where I work. She came in looking for someone to manage her estate after her death. I learned that her sister, Ruth, had died the year before and that she now lived alone in the family home. We told stories about the old days at VNA and about our pets. This is when I first “met” Gabby the Tabby cat and Bambi, Ruth’s chihuahua mix. We had a wonderful conversation and I was reminded what an upbeat and positive person she was.
The next time I saw Ilona was in January 2023. I got a call from Cottage Hospital because Ilona had been admitted and they were looking for her healthcare agent. When I walked into her room in ICU, I didn’t know what to expect. She was lying so quiet and still. When she looked at me, I said “do you know who I am?” She took a minute and then said “fiduciary”. I had underestimated what a smart and tough woman she was.
It wasn’t long before she was discharged, spent some time in rehab, and then moved into a local retirement community. We had long talks when I would visit and I asked Ilona about her life. That’s when I learned that Ilona had been born in Ohio and lived there with her family until her dad died unexpectedly when Ilona was young. Her mother Margaret, grieving and hating the cold winters, moved Ilona and her sister Ruth to Los Angeles to start again. The way Ilona would tell it, Margaret loved the weather in LA but not how big the city was. She started going to the library and researching coastal towns and that’s when she happened upon Santa Barbara and moved the family up the coast.
I don’t know much about the intervening years before Ilona moved back to Santa Barbara. I do know that Ilona got her nursing degree, lived in Connecticut for many years and then in Los Angeles. I know that she preferred to work the night shift and, when she finally did retire, she always had trouble sleeping through the night.
Ilona moved back to Santa Barbara to join Ruth in caring for Margaret. When Margaret passed away, Ilona stayed in Santa Barbara and she and Ruth enjoyed many years together. When Ruth passed away in 2022, Ilona decided to sell the family home. While her plan was to move back to Ohio to join her remaining family, cousin Rick Johnson and his wife Sharon, Ilona’s health never quite returned to the point where she could make that move so she settled into a community in Santa Barbara.
When I think of Ilona there are two things that everyone who came into contact with Ilona knew. First was her life-long love of animals. Over the years, many dogs and cats found a loving home with her. Second, was her unfailingly positive outlook on life. As more people in Santa Barbara learn of Ilona’s passing, I hear stories of what a wonderful woman she was and how grateful they were for her care and concern for her patients.
~ Written By: Tamara Skov
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.11.1