Janette Romney; Ex-College Trustee

Longtime Santa Paula resident Janette Romney died Tuesday. She was 86.

Romney, who was born Jan. 27, 1912, in Santa Paula, was a graduate of UC Berkeley.

Romney’s great-uncle, Wallace Hardison, founded the Limoneira Co., one of Ventura County’s largest citrus concerns.

In 1932, Romney became one of the first female employees of the Social Security Administration. She worked for three years in Washington before marrying Blaine Romney in 1936.

Before returning to Santa Paula in 1938, Romney lived in New York, where she worked briefly in magazine sales, said her son, Phillip Romney, who serves as a part-time city attorney for Santa Paula.

She moved frequently over the next few years--to Nevada, Montana and Central California, her son said. She returned to Santa Paula in 1945.

Romney was a former member of the Ventura Community College Board of Trustees and participated in the formation of Moorpark College, according to her son. She was active in the Assistance League and its Las Patronas committee, he added.

Romney was affiliated with the Ventura County Museum and was a docent of the Unocal Museum in Santa Paula. Her son said she also volunteered as a reading teacher.

Romney enjoyed reading, traveling in Europe and playing bridge. She gardened and enjoyed taking walks.

“She didn’t talk about herself very much, but she did some really great things,” Phillip Romney said.

In addition to her son, Romney is survived by sons Jefferson Romney of Westlake Village and David Romney of Pasadena; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Her husband, a former Santa Paula city attorney, preceded her in death.

A memorial service is scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Santa Paula. Interment will be at Santa Paula Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to Santa Paula Memorial Hospital or the Blanchard Library in Santa Paula.

Skillin-Carroll Mortuary in Santa Paula is handling the arrangements.