Two of a Kind

Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro was the setting as friends remembered two great Montecito residents.

Josie Gower, 69, who I had known for 11 years since moving to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles, was one of the first victims of the January mudslides, with her East Valley Road home swept away and her body carried more than a mile from her home.

Friends were invited to put their memories of the effervescent character, a regular at the Montecito Y on film, when Kate Carter, founder of Life Chronicles, set up her camera with Cheryl Kelmar, a longtime friend of Josie’s, to capture the moments of her life.

In another part of the popular eatery, friends including Bill and Trish Davis and William Dalziel, remembered University of Michigan graduate Michael Thomas, a former IBM executive, who died at the age of 78 after living here for 23 years.