Obituary of Corrine McAllister

Cori was born at Cottage Hospital Santa Barbara on February 19, 1975. She was a special education student at multiple schools throughout the Santa Barbara area including Montessori, La Colina and Canalino in Carpinteria. She received a certificate of completion from Dos Pueblos High School. After completion, she was in an adult day care program at the Alpha Resource Center for over 20 years.

Cori was one of the original students in the 4H Hearts Therapeutic Horseback riding program which started in 1985. In 1986, 4H sent our students to Moorpark to compete in the California Equestrian Special Olympics. The final event was a relay race between Tracy, CA and Cori’s team (she was the anchor). They won and one of the trophies has always had a prominent place on the shelves in her bedroom. Every Saturday before going to 4H Hearts, Cori and her father would take the tandem bike to Brophy Bros. for lunch and Cori would entertain the bartenders with her repertoire of knock-knock jokes.

In January 2020, she suffered a complete collapse of her legs and became completely wheelchair-bound. In spite of her limited physicality, she still enjoyed her life going to the movies, plays, and musicals at the Metro Theaters, the Garvin, the Granada, the Marjorie Luke and the ETC. Her favorite was The Nutcracker at the Arlington every Christmas season. After a long stay in intensive care at Cottage Hospital in April and nearly all of May at Serenity House, Cori died peacefully in her sleep at home on Memorial Day. She was 48 years old.

Cori leaves behind her father Michael, her sister Anne & husband Justin Wilson of Los Angeles. Her niece Carina Wilson, her uncle Tom McAllister, her aunt Diane McAllister and various cousins.

A public service will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Carpinteria at 10:00am on Saturday, June 24. A reception will follow at the church. Faith Lutheran is located at 1335 Vallecito Place (at Ogan Road) in Carpintera (Linden exit from 101). Your presence is welcome.

In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Cori may be made to the Alpha Resource Center – 4501 Cathedral Oaks Road – Santa Barbara – CA 93110