Friend remembers community activist

Sandoval worked to save historic Reyes Adobe

Sandy Sandoval, a long-time community activist who worked to save the historic Reyes Adobe from demolition, died Dec. 27. He was 82.

Sally Schneider, a former Agoura Hills resident, said she worked with Sandoval when they were both members of the local chamber of commerce.

"He was strong until the end," she said. "Sandy was very proud of the fact that he was 82, and he was vital and doing a lot of work around the property."

The chamber, Schneider said, formed the Las Virgenes Historical Society to save the Reyes Adobe from destruction by a developer.

The Reyes Adobe is believed to be the first home in Agoura, built in 1850 by the family of Juan Francisco Reyes, who were successful cattle ranchers.

Sandoval attended the grand opening of the historic building last fall.

"We were very fortunate to have had him attend the Grand Opening of the Reyes Adobe in October," said Dale Sumersille, Agoura Hills recreation manager.

Schneider said the historical society disbanded once the city took the project over in 1984.

"Without Sandy basically holding it all together, as people in the society moved away or died, it probably wouldn’t have gone much further," she said. "He kind of held it all together."

Sandoval and his wife, Dolores, were living in Pahrump, Nev., when he died, according to Schneider.

"He was a sweet man," she said. "There never was a time that he didn’t refer to his wife, Dolores, as ‘my honey.’"

—Stephanie Bertholdo