Maisie Oldenborg Barber, a former 40-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away peacefully at the age of 92 on April 1.
Born on June 13, 1920 in Portland, Oregon, Maisie moved to the Orient as an infant. The family lived there until she was four and then moved to New York City, where they lived for 10 years. She moved to Santa Monica in 1934 and lived there until her father, who was a great wanderer, decided they should travel the world. They spent the next two years traveling through Europe and Asia, returning to Santa Monica for Maisie to finish high school. She went on to spend two years at Occidental College, where she met George Barber, a Caltech student, at a college weekend at Asilomar in Carmel. She also attended UCLA. They married in June 1942, one day before Maisie’s 22nd birthday (she had always said she would marry when she was 21).
Maisie and George were Pacific Palisades residents for 40 years. They were active supporters of the first Booster Club at Palisades High, where their eldest daughter was in the first graduating class. They were also longtime active members of the Palisades Presbyterian Church, where they were elders.
Maisie will be remembered for her generosity and continuous charity work with the John Tracy Clinic, Mary Magdalene House, the Fine Arts Auxiliary and The Assistance League of Southern California where she was a lifetime member.
She loved all kinds of art, so when the Getty Villa opened in Pacific Palisades she was one of the first docents. When the Getty Center opened and the Villa closed for remodeling, she moved on to the new museum. She was a docent and donor at the two museums for more than 25 years.
In 2000 Maisie and George moved to White Sands of La Jolla, a retirement community. She was very active there until the last couple of years. She served on the residents’ board, the scholarship fund for employees, arranged flowers weekly and played her favorite game, bridge.
Maisie was pre-deceased by her dear husband, George. She will be dearly missed by her daughters, Nancy Saw, Christine Caudle and Virginia Wiseman; their husbands; three grandchildren; two stepgrandsons; and four great-grandsons, as well as countless friends whose lives she touched.
A memorial has been scheduled for June 15 at 2 p.m. at White Sands of La Jolla.
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