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Joan Constance Bohm Bebb, 1926-2009
Joan Constance Bohm Bebb passed away peacefully Aug. 6, 2009, just before her 83rd birthday, surrounded by family at her daughter’s home in Santa Barbara.
Born in Burlingame in 1926, Joan was the daughter of an engineer and granddaughter of a physician. She grew up in the Bay Area, and married Kenneth Bebb in 1945 at age 19. A Navy wife, she traveled the world with Ken, living in California as well as Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Florida, Rhode Island, Texas and Naples, Italy.
A Naval aviator achieving the rank of commander, Ken served two tours in Vietnam while Joan lived in Hawaii. During that time, she developed property on the North Shore of Oahu into a thriving beach vacation-rental business. The Bebbs also owned and operated the Dar Lani Hotel in Waikiki. They resided in Hawaii but spent much of their time in Santa Barbara.
An accomplished pianist and artist, Joan loved to entertain and filled their homes with guests from around the world. An avid traveler, during the past few years Joan toured Greece, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the Bahamas, Eastern Europe and South America.
She possessed great intellect and exercised it with a variety of challenges. One of her grandsons, Ryan Emmons, wrote in a college entrance essay: “My grandmother could do the New York Times crossword puzzle in ink and rarely lost a game of Scrabble.” Joan’s marathon card games were dominated by her competitive spirit and joyful humor.
During Ken’s tour in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1949, Joan was stricken with polio but never lost her strong determination or her love of life. In 1995, Joan and Ken celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Coral Casino and Casa Cima Linda in Santa Barbara.
Joan always loved well and was well-loved in return. She is survived by son Simon Bebb, daughter Laurel Preston and son-in-law Alvin, daughter Christine Emmons and son-in-law Robert, four grandchildren, a great-granddaughter, brother Philip Bohm and sister-in-law Margarita, and numerous nephews, nieces and step-grandchildren.
A memorial service celebrating Joan’s life will be held at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 83 Eucalyptus Lane in Montecito, at 2 p.m. Saturday. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Joan’s honor to the Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara or the Smile Train.
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