A tribute to William “Willy” Bradford Chamberlin will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Chamberlin family ranch near Los Olivos.
The 75-year-old cattle rancher died July 28 at the ranch on Figueroa Mountain Road.
After growing up on Rancho Los Potreros, Chamberlin attended Claremont McKenna College and served in the military before returning to Los Olivos to help manage the ranch.
Chamberlin served on the Los Olivos and Midland school boards, and was president of the Santa Barbara County Cattlemen’s Association.
He was elected to the county Board of Supervisors and served for 18 months before a court battle ended with his challenger being declared the winner instead.
Chamberlin remained active in agriculture issues, including serving on the county’s Agricultural Advisory Committee.
He also served 50 years on the board for Bixby Land Co., and was in this 10th year as chairman, his family said.
Survivors include his wife, Ann Peterson Chamberlin, from whom he is separated; Jerrie Gove, his companion of 11 years; his former wife, Gail Wagenseil Gelles; his daughter, Ann Martha Chamberlin, and her husband, Sami Revah; his son, Russell Chamberlin and his fiancée, Monika McCoy; two grandchildren, Olivia and Layne Chamberlin; his sister, Sarah Chamberlin, and her husband, Ben Bottoms; his brother, Fred Chamberlin, and his wife, Johanna; and a nephew and several nieces.
Chamberlin was preceded in death by his daughter, Beth Chamberlin. In her honor, he had helped establish The Beth Chamberlin Endowment for Cultural Understanding under the auspices of UCSB Arts & Lectures.
The family has said that donations can be made in Chamberlin’s honor to the Beth Chamberlin Endowment for Cultural Understanding, to the Clarement McKenna College Tortuga Endowment or to the Santa Ynez Historical Society.
An online memorial site for those who knew Chamberlin has been created at Never-Gone.com.
Arrangements were handled by Loper Funeral Chapel in Solvang.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.