Janet Beymer; Community Activist

Janet Ruth Peniwell Beymer, a homemaker and community advocate, died Tuesday at her home in Camarillo following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 79.

She was born July 28, 1921, in Winfield, Kan. The family moved to Long Beach, where her parents were teachers and she attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

She then attended Santa Ana Junior College and Fullerton Junior College. She moved with her family to Santa Ana, where they lived in the Panorama Heights area. While living in the rural Quaker settlement, she met her future husband, Ellis Beymer. The couple married on Nov. 8, 1942, in Orange.

She completed her education at Stanford University while her husband served in England with the Army Air Corps Eighth Air Force.

Beymer was an avid reader who passed her love of books to her five children.

She also enjoyed singing. She and her sister Jewel “Judy” Andersen sang duets at the little Friends Church in El Modena when her family lived in Santa Ana. More recently, she sang in the choir of Trinity Presbyterian Church of Camarillo.

She loved animals, particularly horses. When she was a young girl, she was an accomplished equestrienne. In later years, she taught horsemanship to teenage daughters of her friends.

Beymer monitored county government for the League of Women Voters and headed studies on many subjects. She also studied water supply plans and problems, and was an active member of the Environmental Coalition. She was also an advocate of recycling.

She participated in American Field Service’s foreign exchange student program and was a past president of the organization.

In Camarillo, she had been a volunteer at Christians Acting Together thrift store.

In addition to her husband and sister of Roseville, Calif., she is survived by sons James “Jeb” of Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia; David of Oxnard, Charles of Seattle and Matt of Carmichael, Calif; daughter Deborah Reynolds of Corrales, N. M., and five grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled at 1 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Camarillo.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2304 Antonio Ave., Camarillo, CA 93010 or the Environmental Coalition by calling Cynthia Leake at 388-9061.

Arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Bros. Griffin Mortuary, Camarillo.