Beth Anne Thomas
Beth Anne Thomas was a deeply loved wife, mother, and friend. She passed away on June 19th, 2022 after a courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer, outliving her initial prognosis by several years. As she transitioned out of her body and into the spirit world, Beth was held in the arms of her husband, Matt, along with her mother-in-law, DeeLee, while her daughter, Melanie, sang her to peace.
Beth had many happy memories of growing up on San Marcos Pass with her father Dr. Leonard Burgess, her mother, Barbara, along with her brother, Brent. She was a graduate of San Marcos High School, received her Bachelor’s degree at UCLA, where she was a Tri Delta sister, and completed her Master’s in Communications at USC.
As a long-time resident of Carpinteria, Beth was a beloved community member. She taught aqua aerobics and yoga locally for many years, and was adored by her students. Along with teaching, she held administrative positions at UCSB, Pacifica Graduate Institute, NuSil, The American Diabetes Association, among others.
Hiking the Franklin Trail, walking the Carpinteria Bluffs to seal watch where she volunteered for several years, traveling to beautiful places, and indulging in dark chocolate were some of Beth’s greatest pleasures. She loved attending her daughter’s many stage performances throughout the years. More recently, you could often find Beth enjoying a quiet night in delighting in watching a rom-com with her husband.
To her community of friends and loved ones, Beth was considered to be relentlessly strong, wonderfully kind, thoughtful, and was an inspiration to those who knew her. She was a true warrior in her fight against cancer, helped many others in the cancer survivor community, and was an impactful member of The Courageous Women Metastatic Breast Cancer Support Group. In this last year, she fought especially hard in order to spend time with her grandson, Aurelio, who was born in September.
She will be eternally missed.
Donations to The Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara ( BCRCSB.org ) can be made in Beth’s name to honor her memory. If you have a memory or words you would like to share with her family, you may send an email to InMemoryOfBeth@gmail.com. A Celebration Of Life for Beth will be held on July 3rd 1pm-5pm at The Lions Club Carpinteria.