Leona J. Warner

Lee left this world to join her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on June 14, 2023, surrounded by her family, following a six month battle with cancer. Lee was born in Chicago, Il where she lived until she was 23 years old. She then moved with her husband and three year old daughter Carol to Santa Barbara, Ca. Lee later divorced and remarried Richard D. Blume who had a son, Dickie, and together they had another child, Kimberly. They eventually divorced but Lee remained in Santa Barbara raising her family and building a long career in hospitality working for the Biltmore and serving as the Dining Manager for the Coral Casino for nearly 25 years. After retiring, she met the love of her life Ernie Warner and they were married on June 12, 1983 and remained married until his passing in 2007. Lee was passionate about her community and voluntarism. She served with the PTA, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Meals on Wheels, as a pollster during local and national elections, but the job she loved the most was as a crossing guard. She said seeing the children and getting to know them filled her heart with love and joy. She and Ernie were heavily involved with the Elks serving in leadership there, producing the weekly bingo event and many other social events all designed to raise money to support local charities assisting families and children within the community. Lee simply cared about everyone. She would even leave a piece of candy in her mailbox every day for the postal carrier as a way of saying thank you. Lee is survived by her children Carol Simmons, Richard “Dickie” Blume, Kimberly Blume Tollstrup, Tammy Warner, grandchildren Robert Grayson Grijalva, Richard J. Grijalva, Richard Blume, Christina Blume, as well as eight great grand children. Service for Lee will be held on July 5, 2023 at the San Roque Catholic Church – 325 Argonne Cir, Santa Barbara at 10:30 AM and is open to the public. In lieu of flowers Lee and her family would love it if you made a donation to your favorite charity.