La Cañada business owner remembered as a passionate ‘free spirit’
Bob Upton — owner of La Cañada Auto Repair on Foothill Boulevard and an avid surfer and snowboarder — died last week from complications stemming from a serious injury sustained last year. He was 49.
A resident of the city of Eagle Rock, Upton ran his business in two subsequent locations in La Cañada Flintridge, a community he’d come to think of as a second home. The site specialized in the repair and restoration of classic automobiles, which his sister Denise Christ called a personal passion.
“He really liked La Cañada, and from the moment he’d opened up his little shop, the whole town of La Cañada just embraced him,” she said, recalling her brother’s involvement in the community.
Before his foray into automotive work, Upton spent nearly 20 years working as a butcher in his own shop, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Christ said. He was a lifelong surfer who eventually picked up the avocation of snowboarding.
Upton traveled the globe in search of the world’s best surfing and snowboarding spots. His journeys took him to New Zealand, Fiji, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Switzerland, among other places.
“He was definitely a free spirit,” Christ recalled. “He was someone who lived his life to the absolute fullest.”
Christ said her brother was body surfing with young sons Von and Ozzie at Malibu’s Zuma Beach last August, when he was seriously injured. A firefighter on the beach with his family at the time witnessed the accident and performed CPR while a paramedic helicopter responded to the scene.
Upton spent seven weeks in the ICU, and remained hospitalized for months. Unable to walk, he was being cared for in Christ’s home during what doctors anticipated would be a long and difficult recovery. Though his prognosis improved in small measures, Christ said her brother’s dissatisfaction with his physical condition only intensified.
Upton passed on May 4 in Moorpark. His ashes are to be scattered at his favorite surfing spot in Mexico and on Mammoth Mountain. He is predeceased by parents Robert William Upton Sr. and Isabelle McNeil. He is survived by sons Von and Ozzie; sister Denise Christ; brother-in-law Ken Christ; and their children Kyrstin, Madison and Connor.
A celebration of life is scheduled to take place at the Christ family home on Saturday. Those interested in attending are asked to call La Cañada Auto Repair at (818) 790-4900 for more information. A memorial fund has been established in support of Upton’s young sons at generosity.com/memorial-fundraising/bob-upton-memorial-fund.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
