John B. Friedrich; Pioneer Ventura Farmer

John Borchard Friedrich, a pioneer Ventura County farmer, died Thursday at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura after a lengthy illness. He was 82.

He was born on Dec. 4, 1917 in Ventura County and was a lifelong resident. He was the son of the late Joseph Frances and Ann Borchard Friedrich, who were among the first settlers of the Conejo and Santa Clara valleys.

Friedrich attended Santa Clara Elementary School and graduated from Santa Clara High School. When he was 17, he started farming with his father and brother. After his father’s death, he and his brother Joe continued their extensive ranching operations throughout the county.

He was a Eucharistic minister at the Santa Clara Parish. In 1987, when Pope John Paul II visited California, he presented Friedrich with a papal medal. Friedrich was also a knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Friedrich was a member of the Knights of Columbus Oxnard Council 750. He belonged to the Ventura County Farm Bureau and the United Water District of Ventura County. He helped to build schools, churches and hospitals in the community.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Marie Friedrich of Oxnard; sons John Jr., Joseph Anthony and Jerry Michael; daughter Gloriann M. Schuck; and eight grandchildren.

A funeral Mass is scheduled at 11 a.m. today at Santa Clara Church. Burial will follow at Santa Clara Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Augustinian Recollect Priory, 400 Sherwood Way, Oxnard, CA 93041.

Arrangements are under the direction of the James A. Reardon Mortuary in Oxnard.