Cris Loy, Cindy Teer, DoriAnne Matsumoto and Kim Murphy together at Knott’s Scary Farm the day Loy passed.
by Amy Brown
Some people just make life a little sweeter for others, and Cris Loy was one of them. Whether it was designing custom cakes for people in her business, a Gift of Taste, or helping create the Memorial Rock Garden at the Ventura promenade for late surfing dog Haole Boy—her focus was to bring happiness and comfort to others.
Loy passed away suddenly while with some of the same close group of girlfriends who started and maintained the iconic rock garden at C Street. Her friends are now placing painted memorial rocks for Loy in the very garden she and her friends created. Her loved ones share that Loy was committed to supporting others, and they plan to honor her legacy with an ongoing effort of acts of kindness.
Kim Murphy: “It’s so hard to summarize how this incredible loss of Cris has affected me. I will be forever grateful for her friendship, not only to me, but her love of my dogs, and my husband as well. We all became so intertwined in each other‘s lives, that it doesn’t even seem possible that we’ve lost her. John and I will be forever grateful for all she did for us with memorializing Haole, and being the inspiration behind the Memorial Rock Garden. She loved this garden so very much, and put her heart and soul into it. She vowed for one year to make sure there were enough kindness rocks available that people could come and take a rock, any rock that spoke to them other than the memorial rocks. If there was something she wanted to do for somebody, she just did it. She was the most selfless person. Having to place memorial rocks in her honor in the garden was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to personally do. Cris will live in my heart forever, and I will keep her proud of our beautiful garden. Miss you my friend, watch over us.”
Cindy Teer: “Cris introduced me to Ventura and showed me all the beautiful things this town has to offer. I have grown to love the place where she grew up and will always cherish the joy and happiness she brought into my life, no matter where I go. She always brought pure joy to everything she did, and the rock garden is no exception. The rock garden holds a special place in my heart because it was built with love by Cris, Kim and DoriAnne.”
Belinda Greenstein:” I could say a million great things about Cris and all would be true. A few things I will say without hesitation, Cris will FURever be our ROCK, ready to ROCK-N-Roll no matter what was needed or asked of her. But in life, Cris was the ROCKstar for anyone and everyone blessed enough to know her. May she always ROCK on in heaven! “
DoriAnne Matsumoto:” Cris was a one in a million friend. We met on Instagram through our dogs and I knew from her posts and comments that she was funny and clever. When we met in person, I immediately loved her. She was just as entertaining as she was on social media. But she was also extremely kind and giving–always inviting others to join in activities, creating the most over the top puppy showers for our dog group and always bringing a cake to a celebration. I still talk about the Amazon cake she made for one of my birthdays. Not only did it look just like an Amazon box but it was delicious as well. She had the biggest, brightest smile and her heart was just as big. Her artistic talent and creativity were amazing, from her cakes to her painted rocks to her vision for Haole’s Memorial Rock Garden. It’s bittersweet to be placing rocks for her there now. We may have only known each other for a few years, but she was family to me and I will miss her forever. “
