Monterey Peninsula - 65° Magazine

It was at that very moment that Montoya determined that she would
make the rigorous 19,340 foot climb to say goodbye to her husband.
PERSONA
Personal tragedies—all things that knock
individuals off their centers and interrupt life’s
course—can manifest differently in each person.
One may wrap themselves in a pseudo-cocoon of
various emotions, while another may dive into the
development of a grassroots organization to pay
tribute to the loss of a loved one.
Stacey Montoya, originally from Santa Cruz and a
long-time resident of the Monterey Peninsula, is a
graduate of Santa Catalina Girl’s School and has
lived much more than her 38 birth years.
In fall of 2001, when tragedy took the life of her
36-year-old husband, whom she married just three
months earlier in the Chapel at Santa Catalina,
Montoya’s youthful bravado was stripped from
her. The strong independent woman with an
MBA in Finance, who once worked with the U.S.
International Trade Commission, found herself lying
in bed day after day, without focus. These were the
embryonic stages of Montoya’s eight-year journey
up her mountain of healing.
Living in Boston, away from her family support
system and suffering from post traumatic stress
disorder, Montoya felt angry and without closure.
Her home became a revolving turnstile for five
of her committed friends who scheduled visits to
ensure she would never be alone.
In March of 2002 Montoya’s devoted cheerleaders
insisted that she participate in a girl’s night out
to the IMAX theatre, where the feature was
Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa. During the film,
it was said that the locals refer to the summit of
Kilimanjaro as “where the heavens meet the earth.”
As these words resonated in Montoya’s mind,
she turned to her friends and said “that is where I
will need to go.” It was at that very moment that
Montoya determined she would make the rigorous
19,340 foot climb to say goodbye to her husband.
Montoya hopped from Boston to London where
she worked and tried to mend, but with little
success. She returned to the Monterey Peninsula
in 2004 and threw herself into an 80-hour work
week. Work became her life until Montoya had
an epiphany.
Montoya realized that lives can be called short
without the courtesy of a whistle warning. She
noticed that many people put their “real” lives on
hold while subscribing to careers that offer prestige
and larger salaries at the sacrifice of putting
personal relationships on hold.
This realization metamorphosed into the thought
that there were young children—exposed to
terminal and predisposed illnesses, abuse,
and neglect—living in the world with no vote or
second chance.
In the following weeks she resigned from her job.
She focused on training for her trek up
Mt. Kilimanjaro, and on her commitments to
children’s agencies on the Monterey Peninsula
such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Court
Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA).
In January of 2007, Stacey Montoya, joined by
three other seasoned climbers, made the climb up
Mt. Kilimanjaro. In her backpack she carried a
5-pound natural heart-shaped stone, and when
she reached the summit on the 7th day she
respectfully buried her “heavy heart” in the snow
of Kilimanjaro. You could liken the experience to
a tattoo removal, with eight years of sadness and
grief finally behind her.
Today Montoya resides on the Monterey
Peninsula and is more committed than ever to
giving a voice to children who have been abused,
abandoned and neglected, and hope to children
with life-threatening illnesses. She is the Monterey
Area Coordinator as well as Wish Grantor for the
Make a Wish Foundation. She also serves on the
Board of Directors for CASA and is a devoted
advocate for them. Additionally, she has worked
with the World Harvest Ministries, and in her
travels to India, Ethiopia, and Columbia she visits
the cities’ orphanages.
She recently completed courses in viticulture and
oenology at UC Davis to pursue her secondary
passion, wine-making. In June of 2008, she
established her boutique winery named Chateau
Bellamonte. The tag line on each label says,
“Where the Heavens Meet the Earth.” °