When Laura Cleaves was in high school, she wanted to learn how to rappel.

However, girls' physical education classes at the time didn't include the sport, said her sister, Bobbie Green.

Undeterred, the teenage Cleaves eventually convinced her P.E. teacher to let her join the boys' P.E. classes, where she became an expert rappeller.

“She put a bunch of the guys to shame,” Green said of her elder sister.

Cleaves, a longtime senior investigator with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, died May 1 at the age of 53 in a head-on collision on Highway 154 near Highway 246, not far from her home in Santa Ynez.

On Thursday, Cleaves' family and friends gathered at the Pacific Christian Center in Santa Maria for a memorial service.

A half-hour before the

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ceremony, the Christian Center's ample parking lot was already completely full.

Throngs of mourners - some parked several blocks away - began to make their way into the church.

Hundreds of uniformed law enforcement officers from at least six different Central Coast agencies lined the entrance to the building.

In all, about 1,000 people came to bid their final farewells.

“Laura always distinguished herself personally and professionally,” District Attorney Christie Stanley said during her eulogy. “We always knew that if Laura was assigned, the job would be done, and it would be done well.”

An accomplished horsewoman, Cleaves both taught private riding lessons and was an instructor for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department's mounted unit up until the time of her death.

Those who spoke during Thursday's memorial service recounted Cleaves' dedication to her work and family, her love for horses, and her annual Christmas open house.

“I'll tell you, the first time I saw it, I started believing in Santa Claus,” joked Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown of Cleaves' elaborate Christmas displays.

At a reception following the ceremony, Lynn Fischer recalled how Cleaves taught her daughter, Kathryn, how to ride a horse.

“She was always concerned about safety and knowing everything about the animals,” Fischer said.

Cleaves' sister remembered the soft touch that was behind her sister's physical toughness.

“Basically, she's the Martha Stewart of the West Coast, but she carried a gun,” Green said, leaning forward, smiling, the rims around her eyes red.

Green said she doesn't really buy into the concept of heroes.

However, Cleaves “would be about the closest I thing I would have to a hero,” she said.

Laura Jean Cleaves is survived by her husband, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Cleaves, and their two daughters, Krista Buxman of Oxnard and Kelly York of Santa Ynez.

She was born April 19,1955, in Long Beach and grew up in Southern California.

Upon her graduation from Long Beach State University, Cleaves joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, where she met and fell in love with fellow deputy Stephen Cleaves. They married in 1978.

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santamaria times.com