Local News in Brief : Simi Valley Widow, 82, Marries Man She Sued, Goes to Hawaii

An 82-year-old Simi Valley widow and the 58-year-old man she once sued over the control of her estimated $12-million estate were married Saturday morning in a private Las Vegas ceremony, 10 days after publicly announcing their engagement, the woman’s attorney said Wednesday.

A “glowing” Lucile Estes exchanged vows with Bill Baker in a 20-minute ceremony in the presidential suite of Caesar’s Palace, said attorney Joseph Vlad, who was among about 15 family members and friends who attended.

“She was extremely happy, she was just glowing,” Vlad said. “During the ceremony they gave a toast to the friends and family there.”

Vlad said Estes wore a white wool, three-piece suit with a rhinestone collar. Baker, a retired real estate broker, was dressed in a dark pinstriped suit, he said. The maid of honor was Estes’ sister, Alma Chandler, and the best man was Ray Holmes, Baker’s stepson.

On Monday, Estes, Baker and Chandler, 76, left for Hawaii for what Vlad said will be an indefinite period.

The marriage of Estes and Baker apparently ends months of controversy surrounding the fortune of the elderly woman, a former elementary school teacher from a pioneering family in the Moorpark and Simi Valley areas who amassed her wealth mostly by buying and selling real estate.

Last May, Estes sued Baker on the grounds that he “fraudulently induced” her into signing over total control of her estate to him. Several months of legal wrangling followed as Estes tried to have the lawsuit dropped. The suit was dismissed two weeks ago.