John Charles Tremblay
John Charles Tremblay was born in Spokane Washington on February 24, 1952 and he passed away on March 15, 2024. John moved from Sylmar, California in 1964 to Santa Barbara with his parents, Malcolm and Dorothy Tremblay, and his four siblings.
John was a “one-of-a-kind!” He had a great sense of humor. He enjoyed making people laugh. John attended Dolores Grade School, Bishop Diego High School, Santa Barbara City College, the University of Colorado, and San Diego State University.
John had natural strength and agility. He was the undefeated heavy weight boxer for the Santa Barbara Boxing Club. While at Bishop Diego he was the Shot-Put Champion for the Cardinal track team.
Many who witnessed John’s gridiron performance or played with or against him consider him to be among the toughest, most aggressive defensive linemen to ever play in the Santa Barbara community. He was named to the Bishop Diego High School Athletic Hall of Fame and to the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame. His football career began at Dolores Grade School where he was the MVP of that football team. He then received MVP and All-Conference accolades throughout his football career at Bishop Diego. While at Santa Barbara City College he was named team captain, MVP, All-Conference, All-State, and All-American. In 1973 John received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Colorado and in 1975 he received another full athletic scholarship to San Diego State University where he started as a defensive lineman for the #18 ranked Aztecs.
Subsequent to his college career, John started successful automotive-related businesses in San Diego, where he resided for almost 20 years. He returned to Santa Barbara in 1990 where he worked at Graham Chevrolet and Mel Clayton Ford. He later returned to San Diego where he worked at Jerome’s Furniture Store until he retired in 2017 to Neveda where he enjoyed the desert outdoors.
John is survived by his sons Rocky Tremblay and Max Tremblay, his daughter, Molly Tremblay, and his siblings; Swaneagle Tremblay, Tim Tremblay, Moira Barbara Ruiz, and Margaret Mead.
John’s funeral Mass will be celebrated on April 4, 11 AM at the Old Mission Santa Barbara.