Andrea Grace Soter-Simonson (1960 – 2008)
Andrea Grace Soter-Simonson was born on Nov. 21, 1960,
at St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard, California. On June 6, 2008,
beloved daughter, wife, sister, and mother passed away in her home.
Andrea succumbed to her illness after a courageous six-year battle with
ovarian cancer. Andrea heroically fought her illness, often defying the experts
and odds while living her life during this time without complaint or apparent debilitation,
and with strength, dignity and grace.
Andrea left behind a legacy of hard work, love, and kindness towards those around her.
Andrea was a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley for over 25 years. She was a Baron’s top female financial advisor in 2006 and 2007 and loved the challenge involved with her job. Andrea was an avid church goer, and made an effort to contribute to the church community in any way she could. She was a proud mother to her two children, and a devoted wife. Throughout her illness, Andrea made sure that nothing came before her love for her family.
It is because of Andrea’s dedication to those she loved and relentless ability to fight her disease that we choose to help others in her name today.
The project—which consists of a picnic area, landscaping, new benches and a 15-foot tall flute-playing mermaid in bronze—is a public/private partnership between the City of Ventura and three of its residents. The City provided engineering and site approvals.
Sam Povar, a retired financial and employment executive and a longtime resident of the Pierpont area, has contributed financial support—and his passion— to numerous improvement projects to beautify City property. Previous projects include the Repult/ArtCity/Vista bus shelter at the west of Main Street near the Ventura River and Povar Plaza at Harbor Boulevard that connects entrances to Ventura Pier and the Highway 101 pedestrian overpass—named in memory of his late wife Oriana.
Povar encouraged good friend Andy Soter to undertake a similar commemorative collaboration—the restoration of the west point of Marina Park near the breakwater with new benches, landscaping and picnic areas, now named Soter Point in memory of his late daughter Andrea.
Another Pierpont resident, Alec Benke, (a former Russian marine engineer immigrant from Vladivostok) who owns a Camarillo-based rock landscaping construction company donated the mermaid statue. Originally purchased for personal use, he generously paid for the statue’s construction and installation materials on a ten-foot pedestal at Soter Point.
“During an era of government budgetary constraints, we applaud these residents for their exemplary actions of providing both the passion and the private financing for these improvements to our city’s public spaces,” said Community Partnerships Manager Denise Sindelar.
Soter Point- Mermaid Statue in Honor of Andrea
