Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees Dies

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By William M. Macfadyen, Noozhawk Publisher |

6-term mayor had been treated in June for chest pains

Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees died Thursday night from “complications related to a prior medical condition,” the city of Lompoc said Friday. An exact cause of death was not reported. He was 61.

DeWees, who was elected to his sixth term as mayor in 2008, died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. In June, he had been hospitalized at Lompoc Valley Medical Center with chest pains.

The former Goleta resident had moved his family to Lompoc in 1987.

Joe Armendariz, a Carpinteria city councilman who had served with DeWees on a number of Santa Barbara County boards and commissions over the years, said he was “shocked and sad to learn of the untimely passing of my friend and colleague, Lompoc Mayor Dick Dewees.”

“Dick was a dedicated husband and father as well as a fine public servant with a great sense of humor,” Armendariz said in an e-mail to Noozhawk. “He loved the city of Lompoc and represented the people of Lompoc exceptionally well as their elected mayor. Dick was also a sensible and effective voice on SBCAG (Santa Barbara County Association of Governments) and LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) and made the meetings an enjoyable time for all of us. He will be greatly missed.”

Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino, in an e-mail to Noozhawk, said DeWees was “one of my closest, dearest friends for many, many years. We shared the same zest for life, love of family, and dedication to getting things done with common sense. He was a big man with a good head on his shoulders, a heck of a sense of humor and a big booming laugh. While he liked to make people happy, above all, he was one of those really special guys who sincerely cared about giving back to his community.”

A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, DeWees and his wife, Jane, had been married for 38 years and have two children. Funeral arrangements are pending. Starbuck-Lind Mortuary in Lompoc will handle arrangements.

— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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