Cameron Leigh Aanerud

Santa Barbara News-Press

AANERUD, Cameron Leigh, of Santa Barbara and Bishop, departed this life on December 12, 2002. He was known to some as Lee, to others as Kim and to Cachuma Outdoor School students of the 1970's he was "Kimosabi."

He was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, on July 21, 1950. Cameron came to Santa Barbara with his parental family in 1954. He attended McKinley Elementary and Santa Barbara Junior and Senior High Schools, graduating with the class of 1968. He attended Santa Barbara Junior College.

Cameron loved photography, the out-of-doors, Cachuma Lake and the High Sierras. In 1975 he hired a bush-pilot to fly him into the rugged grandeur of the Brooks Range in Alaska. Alone, he back-packed out through 400 miles of unmarked mountain wilderness. Soon after, he was diagnosed as having Hodgkin's Disease. After a courageous battle of five years, he recovered.

Thereafter, Cameron could not work due to continuing disabling effects of the disease and later occurring mental problems. He eventually found a way to live independently in the small quiet town of Bishop. Short forays to the mountains there were his best medicine. He had a deep affection for the natural world and all its creatures.

Cameron is survived by his parents James and Shirley Aanerud, by his brother Kevin and family (Becky and Sophie) of Seattle, by his brother Dana (and daughter Aija) of Santa Barbara and by his sister Virginia Earnshaw who lives with her husband James in Indianapolis. No funeral services are planned.