Doris Phinney
Doris Ann Phinney, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away on April 19, 2025, in Santa Barbara, California. She was 82.
Born on March 2, 1943, in Santa Paula, Doris was raised in Santa Barbara, where she graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1960. She attended Santa Barbara City College before earning a degree in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara. Her deep connection to UCSB continued throughout her career, where she worked for over 30 years as a dedicated and respected department manager in the Psychology, Music, Anthropology, and Political Science departments.
Doris was married three times. She married her first husband, George Bregante, right out of high school. They had two daughters, Charla and Daria. In the mid 1970s, she married her second husband, Michael Phinney and they created a blended family of five daughters. Proving that the third time is a charm, she married Owen Patmor in 1990, adding four more step daughters to her family. Never was there a more compatible couple. Doris and Owen shared 35 wonderful, adventure filled years together.
A passionate adventurer and athlete, Doris was an avid tennis player— playing singles and doubles at lunch for most of her UCSB career and beyond. A lifelong lover of the outdoors, she was a camper, and Sierra Club backpacker—trekking annually with a close knit group for over two decades. But her greatest joy was cycling. Doris began riding her bike to work in the 1970s. She quickly fell in love with cycling, completing countless century rides, including the Solvang, Wildflower, and Lighthouse Centuries multiple times. In the early 1990s, she and her husband, Owen, rode the grueling Davis Double, a 200-mile single-day ride. Together, they went on eight biking vacations across states including Nevada, Tennessee, Wisconsin,Virginia and the mother of all state rides, RAGBRAI, a seven day ride across Iowa. In 2000, Doris and Owen achieved the extraordinary feat of cycling across the United States together.
Doris served as the president of the Goleta Valley Cycling Club for many years. In that role, she oversaw the People Powered Ride—a century ride sponsored by the club— and organized monthly beginner rides. She also served on the board of COAST and worked on helmet fittings and bike rodeos at local elementary schools. In 2015, she received The Velo Wings Award by the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition for her work promoting the health, social and fitness benefits of cycling for south coast residents.
Rarely missing a local game, Doris was a huge fan of the UCSB Gauchos’ Women’s Basketball team. She was a member of the Fastbreakers and a season ticket holder for roughly 30 years, even traveling out of town to attend away games. Doris had a deep love for the performing arts and was a dedicated patron of the Santa Barbara Symphony, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, the Ojai Music Festival, Ensemble Theater Company, UCSB Arts & Lectures, and other local cultural institutions.
She was known for her warmth, wit, and gift of gab—enthusiastically sharing detailed stories of her many adventures with anyone who would listen! She made friends easily and was adored by her daughters’ friends as much as her own. Her family brunches were legendary, especially her homemade biscuits, which she claimed were mainly a vehicle for butter. Her house was the home of many Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners, pasta making parties, BBQs, and Easter Egg Hunts.
Doris is survived by her husband, Owen Patmor; her brother, Harold Caughell; her daughters, Charla Bregante and Daria Bregante Laudeman; four grandchildren—Kathryn Laudeman, Erich Laudeman, Frances Kretschmer, and Miles Kretschmer; her nephew Rodney Caughell, niece Kira Slade, and stepdaughters Debbie Johnson, Mary Simpson, Linda Palid, and Sue Sikkink. She was predeceased by her parents, Francis Vern and Effie Lee Caughell.
Her family is grateful she chose early retirement, allowing her and Owen to fill their later years with rich experiences, meaningful connections, and shared adventures. She will be missed by all who knew her.
A celebration of Doris’s life will be held on June 15, 2025, from 12:00-3:00 pm at the Sycamore picnic area in Oak Park, Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to MOVE Santa Barbara County, an organization that reflects Doris’s lifelong passion for active living and community engagement.
