Joyce Crosby-Fogel Helped Pick Mar Vista School Colors, 1935-2011

In 1951 when was established, it first settled in bungalows near Brown Field.

The high school had no official school colors and administrators asked students to submit suggestions of color combinations.

While a number of students sent in their choices, Joyce Martha Crosby-Fogel submitted her preference for green and gold. 

School administrators liked the color combination so much that when Mar Vista moved to Imperial Beach a year later, green and gold became the official school colors.

 “Joyce said green and gold and they liked that,” said Crosby-Fogel’s sister, Carol Galloway. “So that’s where the colors came from, my sister.”

Galloway said there is no official record that credits Crosby-Fogel for coming up with the school colors, but her sister made sure people knew that those were her colors.

“When she would talk to anybody that had anything to do with Mar Vista, she would tell them ‘I picked the colors for Mar Vista’,” Galloway said.  “She was so proud of that.”

After Crosby-Fogel graduated from Mar Vista in 1953, she got married and spent the rest of her life in Los Angeles, though she came back to Imperial Beach many times to visit Galloway and to attend high school reunions.

She passed away Oct. 4 when her kidney and liver shut down. She was 76.

Galloway said she always maintained a close relationship with her sister, even after Crosby-Fogel moved to LA, often using webcams to keep in touch.

Every morning, the sisters would study the bible together via webcam.

After bible study the sisters would spend hours on the computer catching up, or leave the camera on throughout the day and "send a whistle" if they wanted to talk.

“We’ve never been separated as far as our hearts our concerned. There was always a connection there,” Galloway said.

The sisters also enjoyed watching San Diego Padres games together via webcams. When Crosby-Fogel couldn’t get the game Galloway would set up her small TV in front of the camera so Crosby-Fogel could watch and hear the game.

Crosby-Fogel was born on Feb. 12, 1935 in Los Angeles, CA.

Galloway said days are no longer the same without her sister, but she continues their morning tradition.

“I still do bible study because she would have never wanted me to quit. It’s hard,” she said.

Crosby-Fogel is survived by her husband Irving, sister Carol Galloway, daughter Loretta and son Kenneth.