Patricia Naidorf Obituary
NAIDORF, Patricia R. Allen Lost her fight for life on September 26, 2001. She will always be deeply loved for her great kindness, generosity of spirit and positive impact on the lives of many. Pat was born in Los Angeles in 1935 in a family that included some of the early Mormon pioneers. After graduating from Cal State Los Angeles, she took a Masters Degree in American Studies at the University of Michigan and later took a Master of Landscape Architecture degree at the University of Illinois. A member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Pat designed a series of lovely residential gardens and a number of landscape projects including those at Woodbury University, in Burbank, and the Everlast facility in Missouri. However, her primary focus was on education. She developed the nation’s leading extension program for Landscape Architecture at UCLA and later was named head of both the Extension Program and Graduate Studies at the Otis College for Art & Design in Los Angeles. She later became the co-director of special post graduate studies at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Through these efforts, she was a powerful influence on the lives of hundreds of students. Pat and her husband, architect Louis Naidorf, moved to Santa Rosa in 1999 to her beloved Valley of the Moon. She loved their garden, their four cats and the wild turkeys, deer and quail of this beautiful pastoral setting. Wanting to give back beauty to this community, she actively became involved with the efforts of City Vision to enhance the downtown. She was soon named chair of the Streetscape Committee. Pat recently initiated an important new project in concert with the State Parks staff and volunteers, the historical restoration of the gardens and grounds of the famous home of General Mariano Vallejo in Sonoma. This beautiful, vibrant and giving woman leaves a lasting legacy through the lives she touched and through a heightened awareness of the power of landscape to enhance our lives. In addition to her husband Lou, who loved her profoundly, she leaves a step daughter, Victoria Naidorf, two adored grandchildren, Scott and Jaclyn Slifer, as well as her brother and sister-in-law John and Jo Boyd of San Clemente, nephews Patrick and Shannon Boyd, niece Leslee Wullbrandt, her husband Chip and their children Tory and Releigh and the family of her brother-in-law Ben Nadorf. Pat’s life endures in their hearts and the hearts of the many friends and colleagues whose lives she transformed. Friends are invited to attend Funeral Services on Monday, October 1, 2001 at 1:00 p.m. at the DANIELS CHAPEL OF THE ROSES FUNERAL HOME, 1225 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa. Private interment. If desired, donations in her memory may be made to the Sonoma State Historic Park Association Inc., for the Restoration of the Vallejo House Gardens, #20 Spain St., Sonoma CA 95476.
Published by Press Democrat from Sep. 28 to Sep. 30, 2001.