Stephen Bissitt Shugart
Stephen Bissitt Shugart was born in Sacramento, CA on December 6, 1941 and died in Buellton, CA on February 9th, 2022 after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Sally Shepherd, sister Margaret Kraght of Novato, sister Nancy Pieters and brother-in-law David Pieters of Santa Fe, NM, daughter Michelle Apodaca and son-in-law Austin Apodaca of Santa Barbara, daughter Deborah Billingsley and son-in-law Brad Billingsley of San Diego, son Stephen Daniel Shugart and daughter-in-law Samara Shugart of Mammoth Lakes, step-daughter Jennifer Rodriguez and son-in-law Hernan Rodriguez of Nipomo, and 6 grandchildren, Lucas, Emma, Skyler, Hernancito, Chloe and Aidan, as well as many nieces and nephews, and his beloved cats Stella and Chucky. He was pre-deceased by his brother Alan Shugart and his parents Donald and Mildred Shugart.
Steve spent his childhood in Altadena, CA and then he and his family moved to Santa Barbara, where he attended Santa Barbara High School. His father, Donald Field Shugart, was a structural engineer, and his mother was a homemaker and teacher. Steve graduated from Santa Barbara High in 1959 and then went on to receive his BA in Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the Navy and in the reserves for 6 years.
He was most well known in Santa Barbara for his 50+ year career in real estate and was awarded Realtor Emeritus status in 2012 by the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors Honorary Member for Life award in 2015. He was extremely social and prided himself in knowing everyone and bringing people together. He was passionate about finding the perfect home for his clients and almost always stayed in close contact with each of them. He was jovial, very generous and always welcomed meeting new friends. He also prided himself on knowing Santa Barbara by the block and was an incredible historian knowing who owned which house during any point in time. He made many close friends in real estate and many of whom he remained in touch with until he passed.
He was a long-time resident of Santa Barbara and Goleta until he moved to Buellton in 2014. He loved the slower pace and the beauty of the valley. You’d often find him at either one of his three favorite spots: Morrells, Mother Hubbard’s or Ellen’s Pancake House.
He was passionate about cars from a very young age. He enjoyed a lifetime hobby of restoring countless classic and antique cars and was a member of the Woodie Club for many years. He found great camaraderie with friends from the Woodie Club. He and Sally were active in the club and helped put on the Woodie shows at Santa Barbara City College. They traveled all over, going to car shows and they enjoyed doing that together.
Steve was very proud of his children and celebrated each of their successes by unabashedly telling all his friends about each milestone, award or promotion. He would call his children daily even just to say hello and “I love you.”
If you’d like to honor Steve, please consider a donation to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital to support the doctors and nurses who cared for him with the utmost compassion or the Santa Barbara Woodie Club which was close to his heart. A private interment will be held on April 7, 2022 at Goleta Cemetery.