Obituary -Jane Kellogg Baggott
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Jane Kellogg Baggott, a.k.a. Desdy Kellogg, left this world on March 31, 2016 at her home in La Canada, CA with her daughter, Jane Kellogg, by her side.
She fought a long and hard battle with cancer, extending her life for more than two and half years beyond the initial pronouncement of three months. During those two and a half years, she made the most of her extra time on earth and accomplished more in that time than many people accomplish in a lifetime. This was a testament to the amazing and talented woman she was. Desdy was born in La Jolla, CA to William and Helen Jackson. Her maiden name was Jane Catherine Jackson. As she put it herself, “I was born there so long ago that the most controversial issue in town was whether or not to remove the horse watering trough from the center of Girard Avenue”.
This would have been an important issue for her because one of her lifelong passions was horses. Her first riding lessons were at the Del Charro Woods stables in La Jolla Shores (no longer there) and she told stories of riding on the beach, riding to the top of Mt. Soledad for Saturday morning pancake breakfasts and riding across the mesa with the Meanley brothers to have barbecues at their house in Miramar Ranch. As she tells the story, she met her future father-in-law, William Scripps Kellogg while riding her horse along Ardath Road (La Jolla Parkway for those new to town). Mr. Kellogg asked her to take his daughter, Jean Kellogg, riding with her and a lifelong friendship was formed.
Desdy was an accomplished horsewoman and later became a riding Instructor for the Bishop’s School, working out of a stable located on Ardath Road. She again encountered Mr. Kellogg, and this time he managed to introduce her to his son, Will. They were married in 1950 in La Jolla, CA and Jean Kellogg was her maid of honor. Desdy and Will initially set up house in Santa Paula, CA, where they published the Santa Paula Chronicle, but they soon moved to Altadena, CA where they raised their family of four children: Bill, Bob, Fred and Jane.
Desdy developed a lifelong passion for art and became an accomplished sculptress and painter. She held frequent art shows in Altadena, supported the arts in many ways and promoted the works of her husband’s aunt, Elena Scripps Kellogg. Aunt Elena was also an accomplished horsewoman, who rode with her brother in the Rose Parade of 1911 (they won a trophy) and eventually acquired the Altadena Stables. She passed the stables on to Desdy and Will, who ultimately made many improvements to the operation.
Today, the Altadena Stables, owned and operated by Desdy for many years, is a gem tucked away on the side of the Arroyo Seco. Desdy added Danny’s School to the property, a school dedicated to teaching autistic kids. Desdy attended the Bishop’s School in La Jolla and Smith College. She loved tennis and sports of all kinds. She dabbled in community politics – many times going through the neighborhood collecting signatures for the cause of the day. She took in animals of all kinds and had an amazing menagerie at home featuring: peacocks, chickens, a woolly monkey, a parrot, a skunk, Daphne the opossum, a chicken coop, a snake and many dogs (German Shepherds were her favorite). She was a natural target for the guy from the Humane Society. And she simply loved people.
After Will’s passing in 1989, Desdy eventually remarried. As she put it: “I encountered Charles Baggott, who had been one of my (difficult) pupils during the early days of the Altadena Stables. Since I don’t give up easily, we married and I am still trying to persuade him to follow directions.” They moved to La Canada, where they have resided for the rest of her life.
Desdy is a member of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, Valley Hunt Club, the Altadena Town & Country Club, the Athenaeum, the Flintridge Riding Club, the California Art Club, and the American Saddlebred Horse Association among many others. She was always a “force to be reckoned with”, a compassionate and caring person who made a huge positive difference in many peoples’ lives, and a person who lived life to the fullest. She is survived by her husband, Charles Baggott, her brother, Robert Jackson, her four children, William J. Kellogg, Robert P. Kellogg, Frederick C. Kellogg and Jane J. Kellogg, twelve grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
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