Elizabeth M. Brennan; 20-Year County Resident

Ojai resident Elizabeth M. Brennan, a native of England who lived in Ventura County for 20 years, died Sunday following a brief illness. She was 86.

Brennan, whose nickname was “Lillian,” was born Nov. 19, 1911, in Manchester, England. Orphaned as a child, she moved to Philadelphia to live with an aunt and uncle in the 1920s. She lived in New York during World War II, where she worked at Bellevue Hospital. In the mid-1940s, she moved with her husband and two sons to California.

“She was a delightful person,” said her son, Kevin Brennan of Camarillo. “She was very giving, very caring.”

His mother could often be found working in the garden or reading a book, particularly a biography, Brennan said. She was also a gifted hostess.

“She loved to entertain,” he said. “Christmas dinner, all the holidays, you just loved being at her house.”

Brennan is also survived by another son, James, of Newbury Park; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura. Burial will follow at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.

Arrangements are under the care of Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura.