LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Longtime Lake County resident Edward James “Ted” Tolman passed away on Oct. 15 at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after a short illness. He was 88 years old.

Born on Dec. 17, 1924, in Oakland, Calif., Tolman grew up in Berkeley, the son of noted psychologist and UC professor Edward Chace Tolman.

After serving in the Army in Burma, China and India during World War II, Tolman attended UC Davis and earned a degree in animal husbandry.

He moved to Lake County in 1950 and started Red Hill Ranch along Highway 20 between Nice and Upper Lake.

In the 1960s, Tolman began an 18-year career with the U.S. Forest Service on the Mendocino and Six Rivers National Forests.

He is survived by his son, Russell Tolman of North Hollywood, Calif.; and his sisters, Deborah Whitney (95) of Oakland and Mary Kent (92) of Berkeley; as well as many nieces and nephews in the San Francisco Bay Area.

An avid sailor well into his mid-80s, Tolman was a member of the Konocti Bay Sailing Club and was a past commodore of the Lakeport Yacht Club.

Preceded in death by his beloved wife Dorothy in 1996, Tolman was a resident of Nice since the late 1960s, where he was known to his Beach Street neighbors as “Mr. Neighborhood” for his warm smile, genuine interest, boundless curiosity and friendly, generous spirit.

According to his wishes, Tolman's ashes were scattered off the Marin coast on Oct. 25.