Cynthia Ann Vest

Cynthia Ann Vest, lovingly known as Cindy, passed away on June 17, 2026. She was born Cynthia Ann Corlett on October 23, 1946, in Los Angeles, California, to Clifford and Winifred Corlett.

Cindy was the eldest of four children. She was preceded in death by her parents, Clifford and Winifred Corlett, and by her sister, Janne Gish.

Cindy is survived by her devoted husband, Gary Vest; her sons, Andrew Vest and Anthony Vest; her grandchildren, Emilia, Lilly, Cynthia, Owen, and Noah; her sister, Virginia Matthews; and her brother, Clifford Corlett.

Cindy grew up in Los Angeles and attended St. Mary's Academy, where she graduated in 1964. She formed many lasting friendships there, including with her best friend, Gail, who would eventually become her sister-in-law. It was at Cindy's high school graduation that she met Gail's brother, Gary Vest, the man who would become her husband.

Cindy began her college studies at UCLA, but soon put those plans on hold when she and Gary married on November 13, 1965. They welcomed their first son, Andrew, in September 1966, followed by Anthony in April 1969. Cindy and Gary began raising their young family in Carson, California, where they built a home filled with love, activity, and adventure. In 1982, they moved to Torrance, continuing the life they had built together with their two growing boys.

Cindy began her professional career at Western Airlines in 1971. After her years with Western, she joined General Electric, where she worked for several years. In 1989, she joined Toyota Motor Sales in Torrance, where she built a successful career until her retirement in 2006. Much of her work focused on dealer software upgrades, implementation, and administration. She played an important role in dealer software implementation and technology modernization, helping Toyota navigate Y2K and other major technology initiatives. She ended her career as a project manager for new technologies. Though she was highly capable in technology and project work, Cindy's true passion was always art.

After retiring, Cindy continued to give generously of her time. She volunteered for ten years at the gift shop and hospital auxiliary at Holy Cross Hospital. Her dedication and success in supporting the gift shop eventually led to an invitation to serve on the hospital's board of directors.

Cindy lived a full and active life. During their years in California, she and Gary were deeply involved in raising their sons and supporting their many activities. Cindy was part of family adventures that included motocross riding in the Mojave Desert, snow skiing in Colorado, Utah, and eventually Taos, New Mexico. She also climbed high mountain trails in the California Sierras and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. Cindy continued skiing at Taos Ski Valley well into her 60s.

Cindy had many passions, and she pursued them with creativity, intelligence, and care. She loved cooking, especially for her family. In the family's early years in Carson and Torrance, she prepared meals for the week and made weekends special with memorable family dinners. Birthdays were especially meaningful: each member of the family had the opportunity to choose a favorite meal, and Cindy would prepare it with love.

She also loved gardening. In Carson and Torrance, she became well known for her beautiful rose gardens, with one of her favorite flowers being the Cynthia rose. Later, in Taos, her gardening talents adapted to the high desert altitude, where peonies became a favorite. She grew garlic, squash, tomatoes, and, as she liked to say with humor, “weeds.” She was especially known for the garlic she grew and generously shared with many.

Above all, Cindy's greatest passion was art. After establishing her boys in school, she returned to pursue the education she had postponed years earlier when she started her family. She attended California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History in 1983. Her academic achievement reflected her lifelong curiosity and dedication to learning.

Cindy worked in many artistic media, including watercolor, pencil, sculpture, and pottery. In Taos, she developed a deep love for pottery and gathered micaceous clay from Taos Pueblo to create beautiful bowls and sculptures, including Christmas nativity pieces. She also attended a Georgia O’Keeffe school for pastel art in New Mexico, where she continued to expand her artistic skills and appreciation for the artistic traditions of the Southwest.

Cindy's favorite artist was Caravaggio, whose work spoke deeply to her. She admired the way his paintings brought together beauty and reality. She often noted that while many artists portrayed people as perfect, Caravaggio showed the dirt on a priest's feet, making the sacred feel human and real. One of Cindy's most treasured memories came during a trip to Italy, when she found herself alone in a gallery at the Vatican Museum surrounded by Caravaggio's works. To Cindy, it was pure heaven.

Cindy's connection to art was reflected even in the way she signed her own work. She often signed her pieces “Cyan,” a name that was both a shortening of Cynthia Ann and a reference to one of the primary colors in an artist's palette. The signature beautifully captured the union of her identity and her lifelong love of art.

Cindy was also a voracious reader who enjoyed book clubs and book exchanges. She did not limit herself to one genre; she simply loved to read. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, often doing them daily in the newspaper, and she loved card games—though she avoided playing cribbage with her husband and sons.

Cindy believed that learning never ends. Whether returning to college to complete her degree, mastering new technologies during her professional career, developing her artistic talents, or exploring new hobbies and interests, she embraced each stage of life with curiosity, determination, and grace.

Family always came first to Cindy. Yet she demonstrated that devotion to family and dedication to personal growth could exist side by side. She encouraged those around her to remain curious, pursue their interests, and never stop learning.

Cindy was intelligent, artistic, curious, and strong. She was critical but fair, kind and compassionate, private when appropriate, and open and gregarious when the moment called for it. She had a great sense of humor and a laugh that would warm your spirit. She was loving, respectful, and deeply connected to the people and places she cared about.

She had the most beautiful handwriting, a reflection of the care, artistry, and attention she brought to every aspect of her life.

Cindy and Gary's home in Taos, New Mexico, was their dream house, built from the ground up and designed to blend with the surrounding community and landscape. From her window, Cindy could look out over the gardens she had lovingly cultivated and toward the Truchas Mountains in the distance. It was a place that reflected her love of beauty, nature, art, and home.

Cindy will be remembered for her creativity, her generosity, her intelligence, her garden, her cooking, her art, her beautiful handwriting, her laughter, and the deep love she gave to her family. Her life was one where beauty met reality, and she made both richer for everyone who knew her.

She will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered.

Cindy touched the lives of so many people throughout her years in California and New Mexico. The family is currently planning celebrations of her life in both Taos and the Los Angeles/Southern California area, where family and friends will have the opportunity to gather, share memories, and honor the remarkable woman she was. Details will be shared as arrangements are finalized.