Douglas Mize, 46, a resident of Dillon, passed away in his home on Dec. 20 as a result of sudden cardiac death syndrome. Douglas was born on May 29, 1963 in Milwaukee and subsequently moved to Santa Maria, Calif. at age 12 with his parents in 1975. He graduated from Saint Joseph High School in Santa Maria and subsequently obtained a BS in marketing and business administration from California State University in Sacramento.

Douglas was an athlete and participated in triathlon events including long-distance swimming, biking and running. His primary enthusiasm involved participating in winter sports. He was a skilled snowboarder and skier.

Douglas was employed in the sales and marketing business throughout his career. He previously owned cellular telephone stores in Sacramento, Calif. and Boulder. In 2008, because of his passion for winter sports and love of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, he accepted a position with the national sales and marketing division of Vail Resorts in Keystone, which was his last employer.

Douglas is survived by his loving parents Dr. Bruce Mize and JoAnn Mize of Santa Maria; his devoted brother Bruce Mize, Jr. and sister-in-law Natalie Mize of San Ramon, Calif.; and his precious niece and nephew Ava Mize and Dylan Mize of San Ramon. He is also survived by his loving grandparents Harry and Alyce Mize and Luella Bestul of Santa Maria. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Jonas Bestul.

A memorial mass and service to celebrate his life has already been held in Santa Maria. His inurnment will occur in the mountains of Colorado, which he loved. His vibrant optimistic personality will be missed but never forgotten by all who knew and loved him. Douglas was sunshine and laughter; he will be the brightest star at night and the rainbow that appears after the rain.

Since Douglas lived the last 25 years of his life with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, his family requests that any donations in his memory be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (www.jdrf.org)