Particia Gebhard

01/25/1926 – 10/29/2011

Patricia Gebhard, a long time member of the Santa Barbara community, passed away from leukemia Saturday October 29th, 2011 at her home in Montecito.

Born in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1926, Patricia attended Oberlin College, Mills College and the University of Minnesota receiving degrees in Art History and Library Science.

She began her career at the New York State fair working for IBM on one of the first large computers.

She married David Gebhard, noted Architectural Historian, in 1954 and moved to Roswell, New Mexico for several years before spending a year living and teaching in Turkey.

In 1960, they moved to Berkeley, California and a year later to Santa Barbara where Patricia worked at the University of California at Santa Barbara as an art and then reference librarian.

Patricia was an active member of the Santa Barbara Community giving generously of her time and resources, to many organizations including the Pearl Chase Society, Casa Del Herrero, Lotusland, and the Santa Barbara History room.

An avid writer and reader, Patricia authored several books and articles. She also contributed to the numerous books and articles published by her husband David. Her first published work was a textbook on Library Reference Skills. She then wrote a long essay on the Furniture of R.M. Schindler for an exhibition catalog (UCSB Art Museum); co-authored a book with Kathryn Masson on the Santa Barbara County courthouse; and wrote a comprehensive book on George Washington Smith, which came out in 2005.

Her most recent work was an edited collection of David Gebhard’s writings on Purcell and Elmslie published in 2006. She also wrote and published Motives for Murder, a mystery novel.

In addition to her passion for research and writing, Patricia was a worldwide traveler. Her journeys included Europe, Greece, Bangladesh, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, and all over the United States.

She is survived by her sister Jean Olin, her daughters, Ellen Gates, and Tyra Gebhard Byers, and her three grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Friday December 30th, 2011 at 2pm at El Montecito Presbyterian Church where she was a devoted member.