[Ventura County Star] Catherine “Cathy” Morris Barringer passed away on May 19, 2026, in Ventura, California. She was 99 years old and had lived an extraordinary life by any measure.
Born in Burbank in 1926, Cathy graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1944 and went on to Stanford University, earning a degree in economics and journalism in 1948. It was at Stanford that she met the love of her life, James Carlisle Barringer. Carl had just returned from service in World War II when the two crossed paths in 1945.
They married on July 10, 1948, and settled in Santa Paula, where they spent the next 65 years building a life together. They traveled extensively, loved the mountains, shared a particular fondness for June Lake, and by all accounts were soulmates in the truest sense of the word.
Cathy poured herself into her community in ways that most people never would. She served as PTA president and as a substitute teacher at Santa Paula High School for more than 16 years. In 1976, she established the Rose Garden at Santa Paula Hospital in memory of her mother, Catherine Emily Crump, and she and her family and friends tended it for the next 35 years.
She helped found the Santa Clara Valley Hospice and Home Support Group in 1980 and remained on its board through 2017. She served as president of the Ventura County Garden Club, as the second woman ever selected as foreman of the Ventura County Grand Jury, and as president of the local student exchange program. In 1992 she served as president of the Las Patronas Auxiliary of Ventura County, and as president of Interface Children Family Services, remaining on that board for 20 years.
The recognition followed naturally. In 1986 she received the Soroptimist Woman of Distinction Award. In 1994, the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce honored her with the Joe Nesbitt Award and named her Santa Paula Citizen of the Year. In 2008 she and Carl served as Grand Marshals of the Christmas Parade. In 2018 the City of Santa Paula honored her by official proclamation. At her passing Ventura City and the Ventura Board of Supervisors closed their meeting in her honor.
Away from her civic work, Cathy was a tennis player and a devoted Bridge enthusiast. But above everything else, she was devoted to her family. That was never in question.
She was preceded in death by her husband Carl in 2013, her son William Carlisle Barringer in 2016, and her son Robert Albert Barringer in 2024.
She is survived by her daughter Christine Barringer Early and her husband Jeff, of Pleasanton, California; her son Richard Barringer and his wife Carol, of Santa Paula, California; her daughter-in-law Elizabeth “Liz” Barringer, of Redding, California; seven grandchildren; and thirteen great-grandchildren.
Santa Paula lost one of its finest citizens. Her family lost someone irreplaceable.
If you would like to honor Cathy, please make a donation to your favorite charity.
Her memorial service will be held in Santa Paula at St. Paul’s Episcopal and Emmanuel Lutheran Church on July 18, 2026 at 4:00 PM. A Celebration of Life will follow.
A website, Catherinebarringer.com has been set up, to register to attend the Celebration of Life, find other information, and leave memories and pictures.