Richard H. Aberle

Richard H. Aberle died on January 31, 2017 after a brief illness. He was greeted by the arms of his Savior. He loved his God and he loved his family with a great passion. He was born 10/06/1935 in St Louis, Missouri, was a Captain in the Corps of Engineers and received a degree in Metallurgical Engineering. He owned a steel fabricating company in St. Louis and stayed involved in his business many years after he moved to Santa Barbara in 1987 with his family. He has left his fingerprint on the community in many ways over these three decades. When he moved here he and another man were instrumental in raising the matching funds for the Transition House on Haley Street. He served on their Board for many years. He served on the the Boards of Hospice of Santa Barbara and The Santa Barbara Symphony for over two decades. With his love of opera he joined the Board of Opera Santa Barbara and became the poster boy for the opera Falstaff in 2013. Sailing with his son on his boat La Bella Vita and having margaritas at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club was a joy of his life. He travelled with his wife Susan all over the world over the years and had a special love of a yearly trip to Italy. He was proud to be a knight in The Order of Malta as well as The Order of The Holy Sepulchre and member of the community of Saint Barbara’s Parish. He married his wife Susan in a Benedictine monastery on top of a hill in Florence Italy in 1970. He left behind his wife Susan, two children Michael, Danielle (Jameel),two grandchildren Omar and Zain and sister Susan (Jovo) (Funeral services will be held at 1:00 Tuesday, February 14 at The Old Mission Santa Barbara. Burial will be in the Mausoleum in the Mission.