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Frances Prince, the first female mayor of Thousand Oaks and "mother of the community," died this week.

Prince was 79 when she died Monday of a longtime illness, according to her family. Prince was elected to the City Council in 1976 and served as mayor from 1978-1979 and once again from 1983-1984.

"She shattered more than her share of glass ceilings," said Jack Prince, her eldest child.

Her son said she was a private person but took a role in public service because there were things in her community that needed to get done, and she knew she could accomplish them.

"Frances was an integral part of our city's history and helped shape our community to where we are today," the city's current mayor, Claudia Bill-de-la-Pena, said in a statement.

Bill-de-la-Pena said the city's flags will be lowered in honor of Prince, who she called a "pillar of our community."

Jack Prince said that although his mother spent most of her life in the public eye, the most important thing in her life was family.

"The stuff she did" for the city, he said, "was for her family, mostly so they'd have a good place to grow up."

Prince, who eventually became an attorney, also served on the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission from 1972-1975 and was a "true pioneer" in crafting the city's general plan, Bill-de-la-Pena said.

Her passions included the preservation of open space. Prince's son remembers taking family camping trips every year "to every national park west of the Mississippi."

As mayor, she worked with city officials and the Conejo Recreation and Park District to create the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, serving as its first chairwoman.

Ed Jones, a board member of the park district, said in a statement that Prince was "instrumental" in forming the agency and her work was honored long after her time with the city ended.

"Last year, our board of Conejo Recreation and Park District honored Frances by placing her name in our Gratitude Circle at Conejo Creek North Park," Jones said.

But her environmental efforts began long before then.

After moving to the Conejo Valley in 1968, she served as president of Wildwood Park Homeowners Association. She later led a lawsuit that ended a proposed 2,000-home development on land promised for park use. The land was later gifted to the park district and became the Wildflower Playfield.

As a member of the Santa Monica Mountains Planning Commission, Prince worked toward the recreation area's purchase of the Danielson Ranch, which is part of an area now known as Rancho Sierra Vista.

Prince also pushed to have many libraries built, most notably the Thousand Oaks Library after noticing the city's current facility was inadequate. Former City Manager Grant Brimhall, for whom the library is named, served during Prince's entire time on the City Council.

"There's hardly a good thing in this town that wasn't her collegial participation," Brimhall said, adding that Prince acted as a role model to his daughters.

In recent years, Prince, who enjoyed reading historical nonfiction books about the founding fathers, served on the board of the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation.

She had long promoted the arts, volunteer community organizations and nonprofits and had been a part of many. Brimhall said Prince was a "visionary" and involved in the early stages of the Civic Arts Plaza and getting theaters built at local high schools. She was also instrumental in creating social services programs like the adult day care center called Senior Concerns.

"If there are fathers of the community, then she was the mother of the community," Brimhall said.

Her civic and charitable work earned recognition. She received, among other accolades, the city of Thousand Oaks' Dedicated Service Award and Ventura County Commission on Women Community Service Award.

It's a legacy that Prince's son and the rest of his family are proud of.

"Other than maybe a few developers who don't agree with her politics, I couldn't find a lot of people who don't like her," Prince's son said.

Prince is survived by her brother, three children, four grandchildren and her beloved dog Maximus. She was preceded in death by her husband.

A private family service will be held, but memorial gifts may be donated to the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, Community Conscience or Senior Concerns.

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