Monika Draggoo
Monika Draggoo passed away on Monday, May 27, 2024, at the age of 77, after a lengthy, hard-fought battle with cancer.
Monika was born in Rorschach, Switzerland, but moved to Santa Barbara with her mother, Gertrud Amacher in 1958 at the age of 11. She attended Roosevelt Elementary, La Colina and Santa Barbara Junior Highs, she graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1965. She attended Santa Barbara City College and UCSB, before working at Metropolitan Theatres where she met her future husband, Jim. After marriage, they lived in Carpinteria, California where she worked as a teller at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust for 12 years.
After having a bad experience when purchasing a home in Santa Barbara, she decided to become a real estate agent. After working for several brokers in Santa Barbara, Monika decided to get her own Broker’s License and opened American Dream Properties of S.B. along with partner, David Back. Her husband Jim also joined the real estate venture as CFO after retiring from Metropolitan Theatres. Monika was a firm believer in owning property being the American Dream and helped many families in Santa Barbara achieve that goal. She loved being able to hand first-time buyers the keys to their home.
Her husband Jim passed away in 2002, after a long bout with cancer and she started traveling. She visited many places, among her favorites were the Getty Museum, the Grand Canyon (the Skywalk being a highlight of her trip there), Australia, New Zealand, Guatemala and visits to Switzerland to visit her family.
Monika was involved in various community organizations throughout Santa Barbara, some of her interests being the Santa Barbara Police Department K-9 Unit and the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge #113. She joined the Elks Lodge in 2003 after Jim passed away and she jumped in with both feet. She loved the community involvement at the Elks and quickly served in many positions including Third Vice President, Second Vice President and culminated her tenure there as the first female Exalted Ruler in the 110-year history of the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge in 2010.
In the last few years, Monika and David started showing interest in owning and operating local restaurants in Santa Barbara with investments in Santo Mezcal and Maiz Picante Taqueria. Monika was very proud of these establishments and was always excited by their successes.
Monika is survived by her daughter, Thia Raunsbak, son-in-law Steve and grandchildren Kelsey, Hayley and Luke. Monika loved watching her grandkids grow up.
She is also survived by her brother Hanspeter Rubi, nephew Thomas and his wife Katrin, their son Marlon, nephew Andreas Rubi, niece Regula Rubi and her husband Ernst and their children Timo and Mona, all residing in Switzerland.
Monika is also survived by her partner, David Back.
Special recognition from David Back and the family to Barbara Clayton who joined American Dream Properties of S.B. and helped grow the company to the successful, premier business it is today. In addition to Barbara, Griselda Madrigal and Yukiko Gonzalez help keep American Dream Properties of S.B. running smoothly and efficiently. They have all gone above and beyond over the last few years.
David Back would like to send a thank you to the staff and doctors at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, special recognition to the nursing staff on Wood-Claeyssens 1st floor, especially nurses Kari Cortez and Ana Amparan. Appreciation to Ridley Tree Cancer Center and Dr. Mukul Gupta. Monika’s family would like to show special gratitude to Dr. Jeffrey Sager, her personal physician who was always available and generous with his time.
Services will be held Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 10:00am at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel, 15 East Sola Street, followed by internment at Calvary Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of Monika’s favored charities, Tunnels to Towers.