Obituary of Allen William Estridge Schlumbrecht

On the morning of Thursday, May 25, 2023, Allen Schlumbrect changed his address from the streets of Santa Cruz to the gilded streets of Heaven. Allen’s final weeks were spent at Tara Home, located in the majestic redwoods at the Land of Medicine Budda in Soquel, California, where volunteers cared for him, sang to him, and prayed with him, as he himself had done for so many of his brothers and sisters in California’s homeless community. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held Saturday, June 17th in Nisene Marks State Park. We will meet at the Epicenter Bike Shop at 10:00 a.m. and then carpool as close to the Buddha Bridge as possible. This will be a 2–4 mile round trip walk. Prophetically, Allen was born on March 15, 1974. He was born at Saint Francis Hospital, on Charleston, South Carolina’s peninsula. He was the only child of William “Billy” Estridge of Folly Beach and Cathy Brown Bañuelos of Aptos, California, both part of multigenerational South Carolina families. Shakespeare’s quotation from the play “Julius Ceasar,” from the soothsayer to Julius Caesar, “beware the Ides of March,” proved to paint the prophecy of his life. One could never imagine through his idyllic childhood how his adult life would transpire. In his youth, Allen lived between both coasts with his mother; a happy, smiling, toe headed young blond man with an infectious smile and an unwavering sparkle in his eye who never met a stranger. Like his grandfather Cecil Brown, he loved fine clothes; looking good, smelling good and making people laugh. Even at the very end of his life, his wish was to go shopping for a new cowboy hat and boots. Hope does, indeed, spring eternal. Allen’s diagnosis of alcoholism and addiction, the chronic neurological disorder caused by a low level of dopamine to the brain, caused him to spend most of his adult life homeless. Through the love, support and kindness of many, Allen attempted sobriety. Family, friends, and even celebrities championed his cause to no avail. However, though his addiction prevailed, his kindness helping others who suffer on the streets, under bridges and on the beaches of California never stopped. He is survived by his son, Cody Schlumbrecht of Capitola, California, mother, Cathy Brown Bañuelos of Aptos, California, maternal grandmother Mildred Crosby Brown of James Island, South Carolina, paternal grandmother, Marlene Estridge, and father, Billy Estridge, of Folly Beach, South Carolina, and a multitude of aunts, uncles, first, second and third cousins, all who loved and adored him. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Housing Matters, 115 B Coral Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.