Obituaries : Sanders M. Castor; WWII Silver Star Recipient

Sanders M. Castor, a Ventura resident who received the Silver Star for gallantry in action during World War II, died Sunday at age 74. He will be buried in Santa Paula this week with full military honors.

A native of Santa Paula, Castor was a lifelong resident of Ventura County.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945. His wife, Margaret Castor, said her husband earned his Silver Star for risking his life to save two men who were trapped down an embankment and under attack by the Japanese in New Guinea.

In civilian life, he was a cement finisher for 30 years and a member of the Cement Masons, Local 741. He also belonged to the San Buenaventura Mission and the Ventura chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Margaret Diaz of Santa Maria and Cathy Solis of Ventura; two sons, Robert and James of Ventura and Edward of Oak View; two sisters, Julia Ruis of San Jose and Christina Medrano of Santa Paula; brother Nash of Fairfield, Calif.; 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home, 757 E. Main St., Ventura. Rosary will be said at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Chapel.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Thursday at the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura. Burial with full military honors, including flag and rifle salute, will follow at Santa Paula Cemetery in Santa Paula.