James Dimitre Andros
James Dimitre Andros – Jimmy – died peacefully in his sleep at home on August 5, 2026, at 98.
As he wished, his wife of 21 years, Laurie Brecheen Ballard, and his dogs Bandi and Loki were at his side. In his final months he was visited by family and by friends of all ages, many of them from Rancheros Visitadores (Vaquero Camp), Los Pobres, and the Santa Barbara Trail Riders.
Born in El Centro, Jimmy grew up in Santa Barbara, attended Lincoln and Roosevelt Schools, and played football for Santa Barbara High School under Coach Clarence Schutte, graduating in 1947. He turned down a football scholarship up north for the flooring trade, working at Star Rug and Haywood Floor Covering before building Andros Floor Covering into Santa Barbara’s largest and best. Into his 90s the city’s top realtors still called him – no one else could solve a flooring problem in a vintage Montecito estate. He worked side by side with his crews his whole career and was proud of the young men he trained, many of whom started businesses of their own.
Fascinated by real estate and known for his deep knowledge of Santa Barbara land, Jimmy was also a fine horseman and a tireless one, riding well past his 96th birthday. For five decades he helped build and defend the Montecito Trail Foundation system. With his partners and lifelong friends Joe Zebronskey and Dr. Glen Couvillin he worked to preserve Romero Canyon, and he purchased and helped transfer hundreds of acres important to the California Condor Sanctuary and at Gibraltar Dam – work that supported public trails, parkland, and the Los Padres National Forest.
He met Laurie in September 2001 on the MTF fundraiser trail ride. The group broke into a gallop, his Stetson blew off, and Laurie – raised on a ranch in southeastern Arizona and schooled in its etiquette – dismounted, picked it up, and handed it back. Later that day he bought her bronze, & Dance Without Music,& from the MTF silent auction. They spent 21 years on horseback together: trail riding, the Ventura County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse, therapeutic riding for veterans, polo, and outriding the Fiesta parade. Both loved animals and gave good homes to many – dogs, cats, house rabbits, and horses.
Until his buckskin Nugget died in January 2025, the two were a fixture on the trails, often ending a two- or three-hour ride up Lillie Avenue, where a margarita would find its way into Jimmy’s hand outside the Nugget Bar and Grill.
He was preceded in death by his son Mark, killed in an accident at seven, and his daughter Chauncy, in 2015. With the help of MTF, Jim built a stone memorial bench for Mark at the summit of the Buena Vista trail. In 2025 he also lost Rudy Castillo, his best friend of 89 years, within weeks of losing Nugget.
Jimmy is survived by Laurie; granddaughter Chauncy and grandson Shawn of Texas; great-grandchildren Bryan, Logan, and Helen ;great-great-grandson Liam; stepdaughter Tia, daughter of the late Antoinette Foreman Andros; his sister Kathleen Helm; nieces Deborah, Cynthia, and Mary; and cousins Jerry and William Shalhoob. His extended family includes Laurie’s sister and brother-in-law, Leigh Brecheen and John Dellaverson, and their sons Griffin and Hunter, whom Jimmy taught to drive a vintage tractor on Laurie’s horse farm.
He was true to his word, loyal to his friends, and never without a joke or a kind word.
A celebration of life is planned for a date to be announced.
