Eunice Haugan Fly July 5, 1937 – November 24, 2024

Eunice Haugan Fly, 87, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, died peacefully in Santa Barbara on November 24, 2024. Eunice was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the daughter of Rolf and Alfhild Dalhaug Haugan, immigrants from Norway. She and her brother, Rolf, grew up in Port Chester, New York. She attended Colby Junior College for Women (now Colby-Sawyer College) in New Hampshire, graduating with high honors. In 1958, she married Ted Clause and together they headed West, first to California, and in the early 1960s, to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they raised their two children, Carlyn and Eric. After her first marriage ended, Eunice met the true love of her life, Tom Fly, who was then a bank executive in Honolulu. After their marriage in 1980, Eunice and Tom moved to Santa Barbara, where Tom became President of the Bank of Montecito (now Montecito Bank and Trust), and Eunice and Tom began their long life in Santa Barbara. 

Eunice and Tom were a great team and they were very active in and committed to the Santa Barbara community. Eunice served on various boards and led fundraising for community organizations including the Braille Institute of Santa Barbara and the Music Academy of the West. 

Eunice was exceptionally intelligent and curious and she was interested in many things. Her passions included reading and the arts, particularly music. When she was growing up she loved to attend Broadway musicals, and saw many of the original Broadway casts of the late ‘40s and ‘50s. She fell deeply in love with classical music, and she had a particular, lifelong passion for opera. While living in Hawaii she volunteered for Hawaii Opera Theatre, the Honolulu Symphony, and Honolulu Art Academy. When she moved to Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West soon became an important part of her life. She loved to attend the Music Academy’s vocal and other master classes and performances. Eunice also loved to travel and she and Tom traveled all over the
world together.

Eunice was a kind, loving, gentle, caring person, with a great sense of humor. She was always thinking of others and how she could help to make their lives better. Three of the most important things to her were her family, her many friendships, and being of service to her community. Her extended family included her daughter and son, her son’s two daughters and her stepchildren, John and Carolyn, and their families: four children/stepchildren, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in all.

Eunice is survived by her loving husband, J. Thomas Fly, Sr., of Santa Barbara; her daughter, Carlyn Clause (Alexander “Lex” Brainerd), of San Francisco and Calistoga, California; her son, Eric Gamble Clause, of London, England; her stepson, John Fly of Carpinteria, California; her stepdaughter, Carolyn Gifreda (Jim Gifreda), of Cincinnati, Ohio; grandchildren, India and Bella Clause, Thomas and Ryan Fly, Lauren Nitz, David Gifreda and Jenny Laffin; and great-grandchildren Mira, Levi, Jackson and Wyatt. She is predeceased by her brother, Rolf Haugan.

A Celebration of Life for this lovely lady will be held in early 2025.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made in Eunice’s honor to the Music Academy of the West.