Christine Gail Jimenez

Christine Gail Jimenez

Oxnard, CA

Christine Gail Jimenez, nature lover, romantic, roller coaster enthusiast, died peacefully after a lengthy illness on January 14, 2016 surrounded by her loved ones.

Born February 3, 1947 to Vera Jean Lacey (deceased) and Robert Norman Lytton (also deceased) in Vallejo, California, Chris spent the majority of her childhood moving from place to place with her family, including brothers Kenneth, John, and Donald Hull, and sister Mary Beth Keuhner, before settling permanently in Ventura County. It was in her senior English class at Hueneme High School that she met her soul mate Joel Jimenez whom she playfully slapped in an effort to "get his attention". Well, she got it, and they became husband and wife on April 10, 1970. They were inseparable ever since. Joel said being married to Chris was like living in Disneyland, and he was the Happiest Man on Earth. Joel's family welcomed her with open arms, and she became very close to his sisters, Rosie, Linda, and Maria Jimenez, and Bertha Estrada.

Chris worked at Camarillo State Hospital for over 30 years. Throughout her career, she lovingly cared for and made a difference in the lives of many juvenile and special-needs patients. A lover of all animals (except ants), she often brought home snakes, lizards, frogs and other wildlife she befriended on the rural hospital grounds to show her children before releasing them back into the wild. Chris could tell you the names of most flora and fauna native to California, and loved to camp at Steckel Park. She kept a living butterfly garden in her yard, where she cared for generation after generation of monarch butterflies. If there was a stray dog or cat in the neighborhood, it inevitably found its forever home with Chris.

Although she professed to dislike comedy (about as true as her claim to not like chocolate), she had a terrific sense of humor. She loved spooky things, ghost stories and Stephen King, and her mischievous side involved startling people, mostly her children, by jumping out from behind doors or even behind shower curtains. Her family members learned to approach closed doors with caution. When not scaring the bejesus out of her kids, she enjoyed playing Pogo online with friends, walking barefoot along the seashore, and dragging her husband through thrift store after thrift store searching for treasures. She loved collecting Depression Era glass, on which she was somewhat of an expert.

Eternally young and heart, Chris could often be found skating around the neighborhood in her hot pink roller skates and listening to music on her headphones. She cherished children, especially her own: Shannon Jimenez-Miller, Ryan Jimenez, and Aren Jimenez. All children were naturally drawn to her kindness and happy spirit. Throughout their childhood, Chris could be found playing right along side her children and a gaggle of neighborhood kids, for whom she'd arrange street-wide water balloon tosses, scavenger hunts, and marathons of hide-and-go seek that lasted until dusk. Chris' home was the preferred hangout of her children's friends, who always knew it to be a safe place full of love, food, and laughter. Chris was delighted when her grandchildren were born, and she was virtually inseparable from Josephine Miller, Roya Jimenez, and Jahan Jimenez, who all adored her in turn.

The most important thing to Chris was her family. They celebrated each holiday with unbridled enthusiasm, and had many rituals, including spending summer weekends swimming at the Ventura College community pool and a trip to Mandell's Liquor store for a treat afterwards where she would invariably choose a Big Mama Drumstick ice cream cone.

Chris didn't like sad things, so an upbeat Celebration of her Life will take place on Saturday, January 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Petit Salon at California State University Channel Islands, One University Drive, in Camarillo.

Though she is no longer earthbound, her unconditional love, kindness, and generosity shall be forever indelible in those she leaves behind.

Condolences may be left at www.ConejoMountain.com.