Our mother, Renée L. Malloy Oxton of Santa Barbara, burst through the gates of heaven on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. Larger than life, Renée is now freed from the physical burdens of Stage IV Merkel Cell carcinoma.

Renée was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt and friend who rose above the human-made boundaries of nationality, religion and race.

Born on May 5, 1948, in Berkeley, California, Renée, a fraternal twin, was the only daughter born to Edwin John (Ed) Malloy, a first-generation Irish American, and Elizabeth (Betsy) Hand, both who preceded Renée in death.

Renée and her brothers Ralph and Ward spent their summers in Oregon with their father Ed, a forestry engineer, and beloved stepmother Betty Acaiturri (née Kidwell).

They lived in the small towns of Butte Falls and Sweet Home, Oregon, where Ed served as superintendent of the Logging Division at Medford Corp., and later as vice president of a Sweet Home lumber mill.

Renée fondly recalled her outdoor childhood adventures with her dad, stepmother and brothers, including learning to catfish, canoeing at Lake of the Woods and Crater Lake, and exploring the woods in Oregon.

During the school year, Renée and her brothers lived in Berkeley at their mother’s childhood home at 2619 Etna St., where Betsy worked as a probation officer in Contra Costa County.

Betsy earned a master’s degree in 1969 from San Jose State University, where she wrote one of the first publications on Battered Woman Syndrome as her thesis.

Renée attributed much of her activism and free-spirited personality to her mother.

Renée attended Acalanes High School in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she served as chairman of the Students for Social Responsibility, graduating in 1966.

During her junior and senior years, she co-founded a Student Exchange Program with other Bay Area high schools to bring together students of different races, ethnic groups, and backgrounds to improve communication and understanding.

After she initially decided to attend the University of Oregon, Renée transferred to UC Berkeley after her freshman year. There, she became actively involved in the Bay Area Civil Rights Movement, participating in human rights marches, sit-ins, integration marches, and pickets to end segregation, the draft, the Vietnam War, and to advocate for equality and fairness in education, housing, and employment.

While at UC Berkeley, Renée participated in the TWLF/AFT Student Protests and Rallies, marching through Sather Gate to demand a curriculum that genuinely represented the histories and cultures of students of color. She also advocated for systemic changes in educational reform at UC Berkeley and beyond.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology before attending San Francisco State University for graduate studies in criminology and criminal justice.

Renée’s adventurous life included studying ancient civilizations, archaeology, and paleontology, as well as neolithic Mediterranean agriculture with the British School of Archaeology and Cambridge University.

In the summer of 1969, she participated in an archaeological dig at Knossos on the island of Crete, Greece, where she learned to speak Greek, later joking with her children about how she made it a point to learn “all the really bad words” first.

Additionally, she spent several months volunteering on a kibbutz in Israel, working in agricultural fields and orchards, before hitchhiking, alone, from Jerusalem to Morocco on just $5 a day to “truly experience” that part of the world.

After college, Renée toured Turkey, North Africa, and Europe for six months before returning to the Bay Area, where she worked with abused and neglected children at San Francisco’s Juvenile Hall. During that time, she also co-founded a halfway house for individuals being paroled from San Quentin State Prison.

In August 1972, Renée married Charles “Chip” Oxton, a recent graduate of USF Law School, at St. Brigid’s Catholic Church in San Francisco. They ultimately settled down and raised a family in Chip’s hometown of Santa Barbara, and together they had four children.

Renée was a devoted stay-at-home-mom to her children, and equally dedicated to her only granddaughter Ashlyn Oxton-Madrigal.

She danced around her yard the day she learned she was going to be a “Baba” for the first time.

Renée’s involvement in her community, and her commitment to social advocacy didn’t stop after she became a mother. Renée generously supported many charities and organizations, serving on the Board of Villa Majella in Santa Barbara, was an original member of the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs in Santa Barbara County, participated in her women’s bible study, and was always generous and supportive, providing comfort to her friends and loved ones without exception.

Renée’s heart and mind worked together to empower others, and she had the ability to create diverse connections. Her kindness extended beyond her family; Renée also acted as a “second mother” for many.

Known for her big, matching hats for every one of her outfits, her eccentric, outgoing personality, and her love of Reiki and organic food, Renée could strike up a conversation with anyone — and boy, did she!

She had a special gift for making friends wherever she went. Renée was a beacon of love and warmth to her many dear friends and the large extended family she leaves behind.

Renée is survived by her daughters Adrienne (Cheng) and J’Aimèe Oxton; sons Charles “Chad” and Joshua Oxton; granddaughter Ashlyn Oxton-Madrigal; sister Brenda Ribbs; step-mother Betty Acaiturri (Kidwell); sister-in-law Marianne Malloy; step-brother Steve Lindley (Wanda), Monique Dear; and several maternal and paternal cousins, including Charles and Victoria Hand, Carol, Ron and Greg Roth.

Renée is also lovingly remembered by her nieces and nephews Celina Malloy Peerman (David), Luke Malloy (Beth), Samantha Sandoval, Steve Grunwald (Anne), Stephanie Grunwald Solis (Beau), Chris Lindley (Tina), Todd Lindley (Cathy), Victoria Malloy, Christopher Oxton Krein, Danielle and Jacob Bonaventura, Matthew Oxton (Kate), Megan Oxton, Jacquie Nicholson (Trent), Bonnie and Desiree Dean.

Renée is now reunited with loved ones who preceded her in death, including her older brother Ralph Malloy; twin brother Rev. Ward Malloy; youngest brother Tracy Edwin Malloy; step-brother Mike Lindley; sisters-in-law Vicki Lindley, Joanie (Oxton) Laughlin, and Valerie (Oxton) Dean; paternal aunt Doris Jane Malloy; maternal uncle Fred A. Hand; paternal grandparents John and Renée E. (LaLonde) Malloy, Jr.; and maternal grandparents Horace and Ella (Tuttle) Hand.

Those who knew Renée loved her dearly and will never forget her outrageous, fun-loving, adventurous personality, her love for the Oregon Ducks and Cal Football, her infectious laugh, her sense of humor, and the endless devotion she had to her faith, her family, and her friends.

She will be deeply missed.

A Rosary vigil will be prayed for Renée, 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel, 15 E. Sola St., Santa Barbara, with visitation 4-6 p.m.

Funeral mass for Renée will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, 21 E. Sola St., immediately followed by interment at Santa Barbara’s Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 199 N. Hope Ave.

Arrangements entrusted to Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel.