Dr. Marianna Masin

February 25, 1 918-December 26, 2015

Dr. Marianna Masin and her late husband, Francis, emigrated from Czechoslovakia after World War Il, when they were liberated from Majdanek prison camp. Both went in as young medics: Marianna, the Jewish granddaughter of the physician to King Frederickof Prussia, and Francis, a Catholic, who stayed with his bride through all the horrors of captivity. At one point they stood in line for the gas chambers. Only being medics saved them.

 They came to the United States to join a religious group called the Vedanta Society. Both were so devout they wanted to renounce the world and become monastics. But this was not to be. Their medical talents being so valuable, they were encouraged to pursue medicine instead.

 The journey upwards was arduous. Years in South America were required in training for their entry into the U.S. medical field. At long last they found their place in Santa Barbara on Junipero St. where they labored day and night to serve most of the city. In those early days, cancer screening was done mainly by their small laboratory. Many nights a call would come to their tiny home on Mountain Drive to "Please, look at this slide; we need to know if it is cancer." Of Marianna, one revered doctor in our town said, "She is our most brilliant physician; there is no one like her."

Tapasi, as she was named in Sanskrit, means: "one who is devoted to austerity." And she was. She and Francis lived for others. Always, their time, their money, their attention was on others. Did the terrible war carve out these personalities? Or were they just born selfless and giving? We may never know. But it is for sure Marianne_and her husband, Francis, were saints on earth, rarefied souls we were privileged to know and have amongst us.

A Memorial will be held at the Vedanta Temple on Saturday, March 5th, at 4:00pm.