In Memory: Dr. Charles Camillo Fenzi, Age 83
Dr. Charles Camillo Fenzi, aged 83, passed away on January 21, 2025, at his home in Santa Barbara, CA, peacefully and surrounded by his loving family, after a long and bravely fought battle with leukemia.
Born in Morenci, AZ, Charles developed a love for all things western after graduating from Orme School dude ranch. He attended the University of Arizona, where he moonlighted as an ambulance driver, a job he loved for the thrill of “driving fast.”
After attending Officer Candidate School, Charles served two tours as a River Boat Lieutenant in Vietnam. Between tours, he met the love of his life, Vera, in San Diego. They married in Hawaii before his second deployment. He returned from the war with a deep desire to give back and help people.This pursuit took him and his family to Brussels, Belgium, for medical school, instilling a lifelong love for culture, fine food and drink.
After completing his residency in Connecticut, while residing in Rye, NY, Charles moved his family to Roswell, NM, to begin his private practice as a Family Physician, enjoying the varied nature of family medicine. For 27 years, Vera ran his practice until his retirement when they relocated to Santa Barbara in 2008. He thought it was so neat to be delivering babies of the babies he had delivered. He was very respected, loved and is still sorely missed by that community.
Though retired, Charles’s passion for serving others led him back to work in several organizations, before finally joining Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics in 2011 as a Physician. Taking on the roles of CMO, CFO, and CEO, he led the transformation of the struggling SBNC into a very successful, growing, and all-encompassing community, non-profit organization, while always prioritizing patient care. He was also proud of his work on the board of Direct Relief.After retiring from SBNC in the summer of 2022, he found joy as a volunteer Ambassador at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.
Preceded in death by his parents, Warren & Eleanor Fenzi, his sister Louise Fenzi-Haag, and his cherished wife of nearly 55 years, Vera Fenzi. Charles is survived by his loving children, Demetria and Stephen Fenzi, their spouses Clinton and Katrina, and his four grandchildren: Harley & Luther Richardson and Madison & Logan Fenzi, all of whom filled him with tremendous pride. Charles is also survived by his siblings: Warren S. Fenzi, David Fenzi, and Joan Fenzi and their respective families as well as many cousins and extended family members.
Charles cherished his family above all and had a lifelong passion & calling for service to others. Despite his many accomplishments, he joked that retirement was his only failure. He enjoyed biking with his WLPA cycling group, walks on the breakwater, zoo visits with his grandkids, good food and drink with friends, travelling, sailing, sitting in the sun on his patio, reading, continuing his love of learning with Great Courses, watching Westerns, and keeping up with current events. He was even a Swiftie!
True to his lifelong passion for serving others, his final act was to donate his body to UCLA medical school in the name of science. The world has indeed lost one of its true heroes.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in his name to Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Direct Relief, or VNA Health.
