Longtime Loomis family loses 21-year-old in Penryn Road crash

Giving, loving and polite were words the family of Ian Jeffrey Moreno-Oakes used to describe the son and brother they lost all too soon.His mother, Kelley Moreno-Oakes, said that her son was the sweetest person and was always there for his friends."He cared about everyone else so much," she said. "I'm really proud to have had him for a son."The body of Moreno-Oakes, 21, of Loomis, was found Dec. 15 following a solo-vehicle crash on Penryn Road near Taylor Road. He apparently lost control of the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta he was driving. He exited the roadway and careened into several trees before coming to rest in a ditch, officials said.Moreno-Oakes was born in the Sacramento area, and grew up in Loomis and attended Del Oro High School. He was a student at Sierra College at the time of his death."He was working to get a basic degree and wanted to go to a four-year college," said his father, Peter Oakes. "He didn't have a direction yet. He was still searching for what he wanted to do."Moreno-Oakes was a fifth-generation Loomis resident."We live in the house my grandparents built in 1921 and Ian had the same room his grandfather, Phil Oakes, did more than 70 years ago," Peter Oakes said.The young man was known by family and friends for his signature baseball hats and had considered starting his own hat store, his father said."We were going to build a Web site for a virtual store first," Peter Oakes said. "It's something he really wanted to do."Moreno-Oakes' twin sister, Megan Moreno, said her brother was an angel and her better half."Nobody has one bad memory of him," she said. "I got the bratty, selfish characteristics and he was always smiling."Moreno said she was the one who was always playing practical jokes on her twin."My girlfriend and I once made a treasure map, got it dirty and told him we found it," she said. "He believed anything we told him."Moreno-Oakes enjoyed many outdoor sports including riding snowmobiles with his father near their cabin in the Sierra."He was good at any kind of sports, but was very well known for his golf," Peter Oakes said. "He was Twelve Bridges' junior golf champion three years in a row."Moreno-Oakes picked up golf from his grandfather when he was 7 and played in tournaments from the age of 8 until he was 14. At one point he had a three handicap, his father said.Aside from his golf proficiency his mother said her son had a humorous side."He had such a wit. He was the off-the-cuff kind of funny guy," Kelley Moreno-Oakes said. "He could always say something to make you feel better."It is her son's heart and good nature that Kelley Moreno-Oakes said she'll miss."I love him very much," she said.Moreno-Oakes is survived by his parents, twin sister Megan, grandparents Phil and Joan Oakes of Loomis and Glenda and Charlie Moreno of Auburn.Dec. 23, an overflow crowd of 500 family members and friends remembered Moreno-Oakes fondly at a celebration of life held at the Blue Goose Fruit Shed.