Glenn Mathis, Ex-Manager of Moulton Ranch, Dies

Glenn E. Mathis, a former manager of the sprawling Moulton Ranch, which is now the site of Laguna Hills, died Saturday of injuries suffered in a Feb. 28 automobile accident near his ranch in Northern California.

As managers of the 14,000-acre Moulton Ranch, Mathis and his sister-in-law, Louise Hanson, coordinated the division of the ranch in the 1960s and its eventual sale to developers.

Mathis and his wife, Charlotte, started their own ranch in Pacheco Pass near Hollister in 1972. He named his 12,000-acre ranch after the community of El Toro.

Mathis, 82, had been hospitalized at San Jose Medical Center since Feb. 28 after a pickup truck he was driving collided with another vehicle on California 152. Three Watsonville residents were also injured in the accident.

A native of Hooppole, Ill., Mathis was 12 years old when his family moved to Orange County in 1919. His wife was one of the heirs of Louis Moulton, the founder of Moulton Ranch. The couple lived in Villa Park, where they raised citrus fruits, avocados and vegetables. In 1951 he became co-manager of the ranch.

Mathis was a founding member of the Moulton-Niguel and the El Toro Water District boards, and served on the El Toro Grammar School Board of Trustees.

Last year, Mathis, an active member of the California and National Cattlemen’s associations, was named Cattleman of the Year by the Santa Clara County Cattlemen’s Assn.

Mathis also raised cattle in Oregon, and assisted his two sons, Lewis and Glenn Jr., with their California ranching operations. He is also survived by a daughter, Jane Barnes, and eight grandchildren, all living in California; and a sister, Ferne Shotts, of Colorado.

Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home in Hollister.