Dates

• Existence: 1906 - 1995

Biography

Ailene Sylvester Barnes-Wood-Claeyssens

Ailene Barnes was born in Santa Barbara, CA on January 27, 1906. Ailene had a long history of family ties to Santa Barbara, and was related to attorney Francis Price and Dwight Murphy, part owner of the San Marcos Ranch and Play dom casino. After attending university and earning a degree in English, she began working as a business secretary, eventually working for Emma Wood (of Taylor Ranch). It is through this association that she came to know Buddy Wood, Emma’s husband. However, it was not until 1948 (4 years after Emma’s sudden death) that she and Buddy would develop a relationship and marry. The couple and their daughter Cynthia (Ailene’s daughter from a previous marriage, born 1937, whom Buddy formally adopted) lived together in a home on Casitas Pass road. In addition to maintaining their businesses and properties, the two were generous philanthropists and made many charitable donations to the local community. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ailene and Buddy endowed Wood Glen Hall, established a scholarship for medical students through the Santa Barbara Foundation, and gave anonymously to multiple other organizations and causes.

In 1971 - After 23 years of marriage - Buddy Wood died in Santa Barbara at the age of 89 and Ailene was left a widow. However, two years later Ailene found love again and married Pierre Claeyssens in Santa Barbara on June 25, 1973. Pierre and Ailene shared a love of travel, and a love of philanthropy. By 1980, Pierre and Ailene founded the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation as a way of giving back to the community and sharing the wealth that they both felt so fortunate to have. (Both Pierre and Ailene had experienced severe poverty during their childhoods and the Great Depression, and – as such – both understood what it was like to be poor and in need). Ailene was known to have said, “You can only eat so much, drink so much, and wear so much…”, meaning that it was only natural for her to want to use her extra funds to improve the lives of others in the community.

Ailene and Pierre never believed in pretentiousness, and (Ailene especially) closely guarded their privacy. She was a very astute woman, and had great business sense, managing multiple businesses and properties well into her 80s. The two shared many wonderful years together, which only came to an end on June 01, 1995, when Ailene died at the age of 89.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records: