Foothills Sentry December 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 10 December 2021 John Patrick Kilroy 1954 - 2021 John Patrick Kilroy, 67, of Or- ange passed away at home after a four-year battle with cancer on Oct. 2, surrounded by family, shortly following a final meal of ice cream with chocolate syrup. He is survived by wife Debbie; children Jake, Caitlin and Mat- thew; son-in-law Shawn; grand- daughter Ainsley; and three sen- sational poetry books he poured his heart into — “Torque,” “Proof of Flight” and “Point B”. Born on Jan. 8, 1954, John was vibrant, funny, wise, hon- est, grounded, pensive, insight- ful, and kind; but he didn’t take crap. He let his mind wander, but he approached everything with logic, reason, and a yellow pad of paper. He worked hard and then some in everything he did, but he knew how to unwind, stay level, and bring mirth to any situation. He was an orator to behold, from trade show closing act to wedding toast to PTA discussion, knowing how to command attention with- out demanding it. At every oppor- tunity, he looked for the joke, the cheer, the comfort, or the adven- ture. He loved to travel, consid- ered forests his church, practiced French each morning, watched westerns and basketball, learned magic tricks, rented old mov- ies, adored good food and drink, and dug that he got to be a racing magazine editor for a living. He evolved, too, getting into gourmet cooking and running in his later years. He was a family man to his core, married to the love of his life, with whom he constructed a familial foundation of humor and communication. He referred to his children as “the young people,” so they knew they had a stake in the household. He asked for input and explained his ratio- nale, always nurturing his chil- dren’s better selves and forever remaining fascinated by them. His big life philosophy was “Profound Fun.” For him, this ranged from turning Christmas shopping with his wife into day- long treat-yourself outings to waking up one New Year’s Day and making a sci-fi B-movie with his young family called “Not In My Town, Alien.” His cheerful, thoughtful pres- ence will be missed beyond words, but, as he would often remark, “It’s just one of them deals.” Paul E. Rogers 1961 - 2021 Paul E. Rogers of Orange val- iantly withstood a stage-four situation for two years, and went home to be with our Lord Jesus on Oct. 12, at the age of 60. Paul was born in Southern California. His family moved to San Jose where Paul experienced idyllic childhood times engaging in dirt-clod fights and having ad - ventures on the neighborhood hill and riding his bike. Upon return- ing to SoCal, the fun continued with bike riding, playing Marco Polo at the condo pool, and de- veloping a passion for movies. Starting in junior high in Orange, Paul began years of acting in his free time. He seized the opportu- nity to be in Stephen Spielberg’s “1941” as an extra. He and three others formed Comedy Presents, a group that performed in Las Ve- gas for a brief time. He met his wife Debbi while they were both acting in local community theater. Paul was a computer whisperer, learning from his father how to bend computers to his will early in their development, and making his career doing so. His avocation for many years was online gam- ing with friends and acquaintanc- es from around the world. Paul was always comfortable around anyone and easily made conversation with everyone, re- gardless of status. Whatever else he was doing, he enjoyed making people laugh. Paul was especially gifted in his ability to get people to laugh, and now he’s in heaven making his maker laugh. Paul is survived by Debbi, who knows that he was God’s great gift to her, and looks forward to their future reunion. Paul is also survived by his mother Mary Ann Watt; his brother Bill Rog- ers (Ginette); his sister Sheryl Briggs (Bob); three nephews; two nieces; a passel of grandnephews and grandnieces; and a bunch of his wife’s family members who consider him their own. For any who did not know Paul in this life, eternity awaits. Being born again has all sorts of bene- fits. See Romans 10:9 for instruc - tions. God bless you. The invisible “bubble” Heading into my 20th year as a realtor, I have seen the ups and downs of our local markets, rep- resenting both buyers and sell- ers in both good times and bad. I have seen everything, from stan- dard sales to the soaring prices in the early 2000s -- and then the crash, when the “bubble” burst, and short sales and foreclosures were prevalent. As the listing agent for some of the largest banks in the industry, I worked to help them sell the foreclosed as- sets, seeking the strongest offer. When foreclosures all but dried up, and standard sales became the norm again, the market rebound- ed: homeowners, as sellers, seek - ing the strongest buyers. Pre-COVID, we were in a very strong real estate market, with prices moving up. Then CO- VID hit, all but bringing sales to a screeching halt. Time almost stood still, with uncertainty all around. Good people lost jobs and income, filing forbearances. Once realtors learned how to maneuver through the restrictions, prices started to soar again. Inventory had shrunk, and sellers had mul- tiple offers to choose from; once again, sellers had the option to choose the strongest buyers. Over the last year, I cannot count how many times I have been asked, “When is the ‘bub- ble’ going to burst?” “When will the market crash?” After attend- ing a recent economic forecast meeting, constantly watching multiple sources, and relying on my years of experience, it is my opinion that we may have natural adjustments -- but certainly not a crash, as in the past. With a low inventory, high prices and interest rates staying steady, this “bubble” that so many ask about will most likely keep on bouncing along well into 2022. With little apparent activity on the controversial acreage known as the former Sully-Miller site in East Orange, and no word on its status forthcoming, Councilwom- an Arianna Barrios asked the city to present an update on the prop- erty at the January City Council meeting. Her Nov. 9 request follows a similar entreaty made by Coun- cilwoman Kim Nichols last Janu- ary. Following a flurry of activity regarding the illegal stockpiling of construction waste last year, little information about discus- sions between property owner Milan Capital, the city and the Local Enforcement Agency has been reported. A short-lived ve- hicle storage facility sprang up on the site recently. The property, home to failed development plans, a ballot mea- sure, several lawsuits, and a con- struction waste permit issued and then withdrawn remains of in- terest to the community at large. Residents, for example, want to know when the hazardous waste will be cleaned up and the status of the acreage zoned for housing. Barrios’ request for an update was countered by Kim Nich- ols, who noted that February or March would be better because there would more likely be some- thing to report then. Orange council fields another request for dumpsite update VP Library is back in action By Monica Helzer, Friends of the Villa Park Library The Villa Park Library is alive and well, with new hours and a welcoming staff. Kristina Jones is our new librarian. She attended Villa Park schools and is happy to be back after spending time at the Tustin County Library. The new library hours provide four additional hours of service. They are: Mon–Thurs., 10 a.m. –7 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed on Friday and Sunday. During the pandemic, many patrons enjoyed the outdoor pick- up service and continued to order books. The library has returned to pre-pandemic browsing, holds, computer use, and is open for stu- dents and adults to do homework and work on laptops. The library offers a monthly craft program for kids, and an op- portunity drawing for specific ac - tivities. A lively book chat group meets, via Zoom, on the last Wednesday of each month. Other virtual programs include story time, author events, and crafts found at ocpl.org . The purchase of books from the outdoor carts helps Friends of the Villa Park Library to purchase incentives for activities. The current inventory of books is low, and the friends are seeking slightly used books. If you are interested in joining the Friends of the Villa Park Li- brary, please leave your name at the library; For more information, friendsofthevillaparklibrary.org . New OC political organization kicks off The newly minted Conserva- tive Patriots of Orange County invite individuals to join them at their inaugural meeting, Thurs- day, Jan. 20. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet social; the meeting commences at 6 p.m. A buffet dinner will be served for $25 per person. The meet- ing will be held at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, 1751 S. Lyon St. For reservations, contact Peggy Ba- ranyay at (714) 828-1289. See conservativepatriotsofoc.com for more information. To remember your loved ones in the Foothills Sentry, contact officemanager@ foothillssentry.com