Yolanda Sue Thorpe

Yolanda Sue Thorpe, 84, of Santa Barbara, CA, died January 9, 2025, at Serenity House hospice. Born August 21, 1940, in Wahoo, NE, she was predeceased by her parents Goldie Mae (Creech) and Norman Frank Thorpe.

Sue graduated Lincoln High School (1958), earned a BA from Midland College and an MA in English Literature from Creighton University. She loved reading and writing and worked in TV and film (Children’s Television Workshop, MTV, Nickelodeon). An ordained nun in her Zen Buddhist sect, she was a daily meditator and active in the Santa Barbara Quaker community.

She is survived by daughters Christine Castigliano (Tim Beckstrom), Gina (Nelson) Mitten, and Anne (Darren) O’Brien; brother Douglas Thorpe; sister Mary Dolce; grandchildren Bennet Pullen, Sara Beckstrom, Travis Hoggard, Natalie Mitten, Dylan and Crispr O’Brien; nephews Rex and Ray Thorpe; and nieces Tracy Sorenson, Shannon and Lyndsay Dolce.

The family thanks Donna Caskey for her devoted care. Per Sue’s wishes, her ashes will be spread in Lincoln, NE.