Colleagues, Friends Shocked by Chancellor’s Death : Reaction: Thomas G. Lakin is remembered for steering the Ventura County Community College District through some of its toughest financial times and for his longtime commitment to education.

The sudden death of Thomas G. Lakin, chancellor of the Ventura County Community College District, was met with surprise and then grief by college officials and community leaders.

“I am quite shocked,” Trustee Gregory P. Cole said. “He was a marathon runner in tiptop physical shape.”

Lakin, chancellor of the three-campus district since July, 1991, died Sunday of the so-called flesh-eating bacteria, a fast-moving disease that eats away human tissue, said Mitch Breese, Ventura County senior deputy coroner.

It is the first known fatal case of the disease in California.

District officials credited Lakin with steering the district through some of its toughest financial times, balancing a budget with delicate spending cuts, establishing a master plan for the district and centralizing many of its services.

Trustee Timothy D. Hirschberg, one of five governing board members who voted to hire Lakin in 1991, said he was struck by the chancellor’s warmth and frankness.

“It was his easygoing, soft-spoken manner, behind which he was a fighter,” Hirschberg said. “He was a man committed to higher education. We saw that in his character and we also saw that in his career.”

Vice Chancellor Jeff Marsee, who spent most of Saturday night and Sunday with Lakin and his family at Los Robles Regional Medical Center, said the governing board would probably name an interim chancellor at its next meeting before launching the search for a replacement.

“This is the loss of a real special person,” Marsee said, “a star among stars.”

Barbara Hoffman, president of the local teachers union, said that despite several disagreements, she respected Lakin’s work ethic.

“I disagreed with him often,” Hoffman said. “But he was a bright guy and he was committed to public education. He was doing something that he believed in.”

John Tallman, who worked with Lakin for two years as a college administrator before winning a seat on the governing board earlier this month, said Lakin’s administrative talent would be missed.

“He did an excellent job,” Tallman said. “It’s a real loss to the district. I’m just having a hard time dealing with this.”

Barbara Buttner, the district’s director of governing board relations who worked directly under Lakin, said she last saw him at a meeting Wednesday, when he complained of a sore throat, but refused to leave work early.

“Thomas never gets sick,” she said. “He prided himself on the fact that he was healthy. When he first came to this district, he told me, ‘I will not stay home because I’m ill.’ ”

Student Trustee Chi Young Choe, who represents the district’s 28,000 students on the governing board, said: “Even though he and I had our differences in many cases, he was never dishonest with me. And I respected him for that.”

Although Lakin is the first person known to have died from the disease in California, four others in Ventura County have been diagnosed this year with necrotizing fasciitis, the ailment’s scientific name.

Infected cat scratches turned into a case of the virulent strep infection for a Thousand Oaks man in August, spreading to his armpit and down his chest within 24 hours.

Three others were diagnosed with the illness over the summer, but survived after treatment at Los Robles.

It cannot be confirmed how many people in the United States die each year from the disease because physicians are not required to report such cases nationwide or abroad, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

But the CDC estimates that there are about 1,500 to 2,000 cases of necrotizing fasciitis each year in the United States.

Lakin, 50, was Ventura County’s highest-ranking African American official. He rose to prominence in a county where barely one in 50 residents is African American.

Leaders of Ventura County’s African American community said Lakin provided a strong role model for youngsters.

“As far as the African Americans are concerned, I’d say he was an outstanding role model,” said John R. Hatcher III, president of the local chapter of the NAACP.

“Some of us have had the misfortune of trying to move through the system, of having to deal with racism,” Hatcher said. “He assured African Americans that if you work hard, you have that opportunity (to succeed).”

Outside Lakin’s Thousand Oaks home, shocked and saddened friends and neighbors gathered Sunday evening to commemorate the chancellor’s contribution to education.

“He was an outstanding person, and no one has been able to understand what happened,” said Al Reddick Jr., a friend of 15 years. “He was totally committed to having people use education for everything it was worth.”

Even outside the education community, Lakin will be missed.

Richard Harrison, who lives near Lakin in the Wildwood area of Thousand Oaks, said the chancellor was well-known to early risers.

“Life was an adventure for him,” Harrison said. “We would see him out jogging every morning at 6 a.m. He was definitely the most physically fit person on the block. That’s why this is so unbelievable.”

Added neighbor Brett Susserl: “He was just a great guy. I saw him a day before Thanksgiving and he looked fine. He looked like he was in perfect health.”

Times staff writer Miguel Bustillo and correspondent Matthew Mosk contributed to this story.

* RARE ILLNESS: Thomas G. Lakin was the first known fatality of the so-called flesh-eating bacteria in California. A1