Martha Knight Clyde

Martha Knight Clyde died on May 28, 2015. She was 97 years old and a resident of Santa Barbara for 76 years. Martha was a woman of insatiable curiosity, a talented artist, a chronicler of community and family history, as well as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grand mother.

She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1917, the eldest of three children born to Madge and James Brookes Knight. At age eleven she and her family moved to New Haven, Connecticut. There she attended the Foote and Prospect Hills schools. Later the family moved to California, where in 1935 Martha graduated from South Pasadena High School. She went on to Smith College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in art.

At Smith, she met George Hill Clyde, a student at Williams College. They both graduated in June 1939 and married the following October. They moved to Santa Barbara where Martha's step-grandmother, Lora Moore Knight, and George's parents, George W. and Marie Clyde lived. While George began work as a reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press, Martha involved herself in family and community life, doing volunteer work and taking adult education classes. They raised two children, George Jr. and Brookes Clyde.

When George ran for public office as 1st District County Supervisor, Martha became an active supporter of her husband's political career, campaigning door to door, attending all 1st District and other County events, and chronicling County actions in large scrapbooks. These books are now part of the UCSB Library Special Collections Department.

Martha was active in many civic groups including the League of Women Voters, the Board of Crane School, the Adult Education Advisory Council, Democratic Women, United Way, Get Oil Out and the Citizens Planning Association.

She became interested in learning the processes of art, and studied painting, lithography, etching, and printmaking. Eventually she owned her own press and stone. She was invited to be a member of the Santa Barbara Art Association. Her artwork was shown in exhibitions nationwide.

Genealogy was another great interest of hers. She spent many years discovering and organizing family records, which she looked forward to passing on to her children and grandchildren.

Martha and George led a full life traveling to many countries, vacationing every summer at Lake Tahoe, playing tennis, and keeping up with current events and local politics. In 1994, Martha moved to the retirement community of Valle Verde where she enjoyed the beautiful campus, meeting many new and interesting people, riding her bike, and swimming daily.

Adult Education Courses provided a way for Martha to explore topics that interested her: meditation practices, spirituality, and science. She was featured in a prominent News Press article about her "Consciousness, Science, and Spirituality" class. Always curious, she was eager to learn new things from programming her VCR, to using the internet, to understanding quantum physics.

Over the years Martha employed many assistants to help organize and maintain her household. She is remembered as a thoughtful and kind friend rather than employer. At Martha's request the family wishes to express sincere gratitude to Dr. David Gillon, to Dr. Dennis Baker, and to Martha's life-long friends: Suzon Bishop, Norma Blackmun, Pierina Lowdermilk, June Sochel, and Pam Palme. Also appreciated for their care while living at Quail Lodge are Alicia, Rosalie, Estephanie, Sara, Rosario and Diana.

Martha is survived by her son, George Clyde, Jr. and his wife Sheri; and by her daughter Brookes Byrd and her husband Max. She delighted in her four grandchildren, Rebecca Clyde, Tom Clyde, Kate Rome and David Byrd along with her ten great-grandchildren. She leaves her sister-in-law and close friend, Mollie Wilson. She was preceded in death by her husband, George, in 1996; by her brother Jim Knight; and by her sister, Judith Robeck.

A private memorial service will be held in Berkeley, California for family.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Martha's name to the George and Martha Clyde Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, 2253 Las Positas Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93105.