Elin Mary Pratt

Elin Mary Pratt was a musician, community activist and a wonderful friend, mother and sister.

Elin helped start the Santa Barbara Chapter of the National Organization for Women, which advocated for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and other ways to empower women. Elin was one of the founding members of the University of California Santa Barbara Women’s Center.

She was a long-time board member of both the Santa Barbara Arts Commission and the Santa Barbara Chapter of the United Nations.
Elin was also a talented musician: both a cellist and pianist. She played the cello at many Santa Barbara community events such as at the French Festival, Fiesta Days and with the Lompoc Pops Orchestra.

Elin pursued her interest in psychology by earning her master’s degree in Confluent Education (which used psychology in teaching methods) at UC Santa Barbara in the 1980s and by getting involved with a group called re-evaluation counseling, a form of peer counseling.

Elin is survived by two younger sisters. Joan Stein and Nancy Graham (Claire Graham) and her three children, Karl Scheff (Theresa Stutz), Robin Scheff and Julie Scheff (Ralph McDaniel) and two granddaughters, Elizabeth and Emily Scheff (Sean Morales). Elin raised her family and lived much of her adult life in Goleta, California and spent some years in Oahu, Hawaii. She spent her formative years in Fullerton, CA, and Evanston, Illinois.

As a mother, Elin was very loving and an adventurous cook and an excellent seamstress.

Elin was born April 17, 1928 in Washington, D.C. She passed away September 7, 2019 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s in Elk Grove, CA. She was 91. Memories of Elin Pratt can be sent to: julie.scheff@gmail.com