Ekkehard Marschall of Santa Barbara passed away at his home on Aug. 2, 2026, as a result of a stroke he suffered 11 days earlier. He was 91 years old.
Ekkehard was born March 18, 1935 to Ruth and Gerhard Marschall in Hermsdorf, Germany, where his father was the minister of the local protestant church.
His father died in the second world war, and in 1946 the remaining family, including his older sister Gabriele and younger brother Wolfgang, were relocated to Lennep in West Germany.
Ekkehard attended high school in nearby Remscheid, where he met his future wife of 61 years, Sieglinde Franke.
Ekkehard excelled academically, and after graduation went on to study mechanical engineering at the Technische Hochshule in Hannover, obtaining a doctorate in 1967.
Ekkehard and Sieglinde married in Hannover and had two children Jochen and Anne, born two years apart.
In 1969, Ekkehard was offered a position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. The family moved to Isla Vista, first to an apartment and then into a house on Trigo Road, where they lived until 1986, when a final move took them to the sunnier climate of upper Turnpike Road.
Ekkehard spent 25 years at UC Santa Barbara as a professor, and after retiring in 1994 came back to teach various engineering classes for another seven.
He performed research in heat transfer and energy conversion, leading to 91 scientific publications, 30 master’s theses and 16 Ph.D dissertations.
He especially enjoyed working with his students, seeing them progress in their careers, and kept in touch with many after his retirement.
In his youth, Ekkehard was a stand-out athlete in soccer, team hand ball, and track and field. He also skied, hiked, and climbed extensively in the Alps, and summited Mount Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe.
Later in life his interests turned to gardening, cultivating a variety of fruit trees, a continuously producing vegetable and berry patch, and many, many orchids, numbering at one time over 200.
Ekkehard was also known to enjoy a beer or two, and over the last couple of decades was a lunch time regular at the Goleta Nugget, a routine that became especially important to him, as he lost connections with many friends from his childhood and working life.
His family is grateful for the kindness of the staff and the sense of community this brought him.
Ekkehard was preceded in death by his wife Sieglinde and sister Gabriele. He is survived by his younger brother Wolfgang (Ida); son Jochen (Michelle); daughter Anne; grandchildren Sarah (Kyle) and Evan (Vy); and great grandson Oliver.
The family thanks the caregivers from The Key for enabling Ekkehard to continue living at home into his nineties, as well as the staff from Central Coast Hospice for their compassion and guidance during his final days.