Colleagues and Students Bid Lakin Farewell at Memorial : Tragedy: The educator, who succumbed to ‘flesh- eating bacteria,’ is eulogized for his work as well as his honesty and good humor.

Two days after the Hollywood Hills funeral of Thomas G. Lakin, a memorial service was held Monday in Ventura to give students and faculty a final chance to say goodby.

Eulogies and remembrances marked the morning as friends and colleagues of the Ventura County Community College District chancellor recounted Lakin’s drive for success and passion for knowledge.

Lakin died Nov. 27 from necrotizing fasciitis, commonly called “flesh-eating bacteria,” after a frantic, 24-hour battle to save his life at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

On Monday, Lakin’s family and friends sought to highlight contributions the chancellor made to education and his community over his 50 years, as well as his sense of humor and respect for his colleagues.

“This (memorial) will not be one of mourning,” said college board President Allan W. Jacobs. “But rather, a celebration of his life.”

A rose garden will be planted in Lakin’s honor outside the district office on Day Road in Ventura, where the service was held Monday.

State Chancellor David Mertes told mourners he brought with him the sympathies of California’s 107 community colleges, “the support of students, faculty and staff, thousands of people who knew and respected Tom.”

Mertes described the occasion of his first meeting with Lakin, a walking tour of Southwest College in Los Angeles, where Lakin was brought in as president in 1986 to increase enrollment and revitalize the inner-city campus.

“Here was an individual who just exuded pride in that institution,” Mertes said. “He was very honest, very realistic. He knew the importance of that college in the middle of Watts.”

Oxnard College President Elise D. Schneider opened her eulogy with an old African proverb she said epitomizes the chancellor’s giving spirit.

“If he leaves something behind that people will benefit from, then his life is eternal,” Schneider said, her voice cracking.

The educator credited Lakin with upgrading the libraries at the district’s three campuses, improving the registration process, the police force and other services in his 3 1/2 years with the district.

“ ‘Can’t’ was omitted from his vocabulary,” Schneider said. “It was always, ‘We can do it. We’ll figure out how.’ ”

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Schneider also shared with the audience a note Lakin had written to her last March, when he celebrated his 50th birthday.

“Mourn not for me,” the chancellor wrote jokingly. “I have colleagues who know how to celebrate. . . . Fifty is actually quite nifty.”

Bill Robinson, the Ventura College math instructor who represented the district’s teachers at the memorial, remembered Lakin as a gentleman.

“There were times when it was my job to disagree with the positions of Dr. Lakin,” Robinson said. “(But) in either situation, we could discuss our positions calmly and with respect.

“I have heard him admit to error,” Robinson added. “But under no circumstances would he accept that any of his motives were less than honorable.”

Student Trustee Chi Young Choe, who sits on the governing board but has no official vote, said Lakin had helped her tremendously in taking on the responsibilities of representing 28,000 students.

“There were a lot of cases where we disagreed, but he was always the first one to take the blame or the accolades,” Choe said. “We’re going to miss him, his open door and most of all we’re going to miss his smiles.”

She also thanked the chancellor for helping her gain the maturity needed to not take personally the setbacks that come with being a student trustee.

“Unfortunately, there were times when I was not that mature,” Choe said.

Although Lakin’s widow, Karen, and his four daughters attended the service Monday, only his two older daughters spoke. Lori Lakin, 25, seemed surprised at the sizable turnout.

“We really had no idea Dad was so famous,” she said. “To us, he was just Dad.”

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She added that although Lakin was a busy man professionally, he always had time for his family. “He would answer his private line ‘chancellor’s office,’ as if he was in someone else’s office,” she said.

“He wasn’t a very religious man, but he was a minister of education,” Lori Lakin added. “To Dad, there was no such thing as a lost soul, only young people who hadn’t found their way yet.”

Lori’s older sister, Lesa, thanked those who attended the service and implored them not to be too sorrowful about Lakin’s death.

“He’d want us all laughing and smiling,” she said. “So just remember that.”