ForeverMissed
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A celebration of Jean's life will be held on Sunday, June 30th, 2019 from 3:00-6:00 pm at the Santa Barbara Zoo.  For more details and to RSVP click here.

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Jean Schuyler, a woman who favored a simple lifestyle, made her community and world a better place. She did this for not only all those she knew but also for many she did not. Extremely generous with her time, knowledge and resources, her life’s actions and accomplishments leave an unrivaled legacy. 

An accomplished horsewoman and backpacker her entire life, Jean was equally at home in Santa Barbara’s backcountry or seeking wildflowers high in the Sierras as she was in the board room. No job was too menial for her; pulling weeds or picking up trash on Cliff Drive was just as important and meaningful as chairing the board of Planned Parenthood, the Maritime Museum or providing advice to any of the tens of organizations she supported. The key to her happiness? – leave the community and world better than she found it. 

Jean was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, Barry in 2011. She is survived by her four children: Ann (Paul Brenner), Peter (Lisa Stratton), Kate, and John (Marianne); her seven grandchildren, Tristan (Lauren) and James Brenner, Dylan and Jaime Schuyler, Patrick Wilcox, Sophie Schuyler, and Dorrien Schuyler; and her great granddaughter, Josephine.

Jean was an enduring and graceful presence in the community despite a debilitating stroke nearly ten years ago. She was able to live a full and active life, in no small part, due to the love and attention she received from her caregivers: Melissa, Catalina, Sandra, Martha, Armida and her nurse, Carol. Jean and Melissa were well known figures around town, often attending multiple events weekly, if not daily.

For those who would like to honor Jean, a donation in her name to any of the countless environmental, arts, social, health, or educational organizations that she supported and nurtured would be fitting. A personal commitment to follow a lifestyle that follows her motto of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” would bring a smile to Jean’s face and joy to her heart.

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Haiku for Jean

Gentle steps through life 

Leading us all from behind 

Class act, small ego

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Please leave your memories and thoughts below, or add a picture to this website (add photo button to the right) or post a longer story / tribute in the Stories section (see tab on tool bar above)

September 4, 2023
September 4, 2023
Ya know, I met Jean when Barry had made an app't. btwn. her & me for possibly a place to live. After awhile she asked me if I would like to go for a horseback ride & I immediately accepted. I had my saddle in the back of my pickup. We conversed while we saddled up and away we went. Friends forever...
September 1, 2023
September 1, 2023
I remember, Jean. How could anyone that knew you forget all you accomplished. R.I.P.
August 31, 2023
August 31, 2023
Happy Birthday Mom. Thinking you of with so much love and appreciation today.

Love, Kate
August 31, 2023
August 31, 2023
Your life continues to inspire and uplift mine, dear Jean, and I celebrate your continuing presence in the work of the community service groups you so generously supported and sustained.
April 17, 2023
April 17, 2023
Truly an enduring and graceful presence in my life and my community you are, dear Jean.
April 17, 2023
April 17, 2023
Hi Mom,
Four years since you left this earthly plane. I miss you every day and hope you're well.
Love always, Kate
August 31, 2022
August 31, 2022
Recalling lovingly your grace and beauty, dear Jean, and sending love and light to your wonderful children and grandchildren.
April 20, 2021
April 20, 2021
Dear Jean, you and Barry remain vivid in loving memory, and the work that you lovingly undertook is being carried on by loving spirits each and every day.
April 18, 2020
April 18, 2020
I am seeing you clearly in my mind's eye, dear Jean, and Barry too, as we prepare to observe the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the environmental movement which you and your wonderful family have done so much to sustain over the years. I am grateful to have been and continue to be in love with you.
April 17, 2020
April 17, 2020
Hi Mom,

Thinking about you today, a year after you moved on to the next part of your journey. I'm so very grateful for all that you gave to me and others, and for all you the grace and light you brought to the world. Hope you're having a lot of fun wherever you are!

Love always,
Kate
April 17, 2020
April 17, 2020
The year has passed quickly and you and Barry have missed another crisis affecting all of us. We'll surely miss both your caring hands in dealing with this new virus. Wish you were both still here. R.I.P.
June 30, 2019
June 30, 2019
Thinking of the Schuyler family today -- wish I could be there with you. As has been well said by others, Jean was a strong proponent of the greater good in Santa Barbara, as well a very gracious host with Barry of many social events. It is wonderful that their legacy lives on in their children and grandchildren, as well as in the community that they loved and supported these many years.
Tad Reynales
Solana Beach
P.S. -- great to see all of the photos, thanks!
June 27, 2019
June 27, 2019
I loved both Jean and Barry, and I experienced their love for me in ways great and small over the years through their encouragement and support of my efforts to serve. I am deeply grateful for my friendship with their children whom I have gotten to know and love too. To them I offer my deepest condolences and loving prayers.
Since the passing of my own mother in 1979, I secretly adopted Jean-- little by little at first and then fully in time-- as my substitute mom. I told her this when I visited her in the hospital those several years ago, and we gently renewed that connection each time that we visited with each other thereafter at her home or around town.
While I will be away from town for the ceremonies on June 30, I will be present in spirit to join with the family and friends of this truly wonderful being, Jean Kellogg Schuyler, to celebrate the grace and beauty of her life.
June 26, 2019
June 26, 2019
To say that Jean was a special person is utterly inadequate, but I don't know how better to say it. There are some people who truly make the world a better place, and Jean and Barry both were among them. We will miss Jean, but we also know that she lives on in the deep and wide legacy she left through her wisdom, caring, and generosity.
June 25, 2019
June 25, 2019
I met Jean when I first came to Santa Barbara 10 years ago, and I clearly remember feeling that if she was representative of the leadership of this community I had landed in the right place. And by leadership I mean a person who is selfless, giving, discerning, kind, not interested in accolades, and is motivated by empathy. Jean was all those things and more. We miss her of course, but we are comforted by the many positive legacies she left, perhaps the most important one being that she was an example of what it means to live a gracious and meaningful life.
June 20, 2019
June 20, 2019
Diana and I are at a loss to find the words to express our sincere gratitude for having Jean and Barry enter our lives. Chance brought us together, an experience for which we are forever grateful. Jean's kind, thoughtful, and caring spirit continues to be an influence on us. Though geographical distance separated us for the past fifteen years we never felt far apart. We are the better for having known her.
May 21, 2019
May 21, 2019
Jean was a gift to our community. Her guidance and generosity to so many organizations touched untold lives. Her gentle way, her wisdom, her commitment to everything which with she became involved are (and should be!) legendary in our town. To her family, thank you for sharing the blessing of your mother/mother-in-law/grandmother. She will, indeed, be forever missed by those of us who were privileged to know and work with her.
May 11, 2019
May 11, 2019
Jean, a lady of grace, courage and character. She and Barry walk softly with us eternally....sharing her motto, inspired by her example. Thank you to all of her remarkable and loving family for giving her joy and added years of presence. Ride on into the universe, sweet lady. With gratitude for her friendship and participation, Bill and Sheridah Gerard
May 10, 2019
May 10, 2019
It was such a blessing to sing for Jean over the last few years. I'll treasure that time forever
May 8, 2019
May 8, 2019
My condolences to the family of Jean Kellogg Schuyler on your loss of a wonderful mother. I, too, will miss my dear friend Jean for a very long time. She & I shared the love of horses together. I took care of her horse(s) when she had business elsewhere. She could always be confident that they were in competent hands. I lived with her and Barry and the horses for two years and they made my life away from my own family bearable. I will forever love my days at UCSB simply because Jean gave me a great home and the encouragement to finish the job. RIP Jean....and give my regards to my good friend Barry.
May 1, 2019
May 1, 2019
Jean supported so many diverse organizations with such generosity, many of which we belong to. She really made a difference and lived her motto to the fullest. We will miss her presence at events at the Maritime Museum where we would often see her. We send our love and support to Jean’s entire family - especially Peter (whom we have known since he was a child). Shane and Genny Anderson
April 29, 2019
April 29, 2019
Jean was a board member at Planned Parenthood when I was hired in 1987. We both loved the mission and together developed a passion for raising funds. Jean was my mentor. She taught me how to approach the Pierre Claeyssens of the community to support a cause. She became my hero. Always humble. Forever generous. Beautiful in every way. I love you, Jean.
April 29, 2019
April 29, 2019
My condolences to the Schuyler/Kellogg family on your loss. Jean was classmate and good friend of my mother, Nancy Bevan Ward and so kind to my grandmother, Muriel Bevan when she was in Santa Barbara.
April 28, 2019
April 28, 2019
Jean was a pillar in our community. A true force of nature. May her spirit live on.
April 27, 2019
April 27, 2019
The gift of Jean will stay with me always. She inspired dedication, honesty and most of all humor in all I do. We shared so many of the same passions and her drive over these past ten years encouraged all of us. We were honored when she showed up at all the plays and Salons for Ensemble Theater because we know she continued to do just what she wanted to do. I loved her one hand clapping with Melissa. Being surrounded by her loving family and caregivers brought comfort to all of us.
We will continue to ask: What would Jean do?
With love
Sybil Rosen
April 27, 2019
April 27, 2019
Jean - You were always the epitome of grace, wisdom, and generosity. Thank you for thinking of others and putting the community first. We are all better because of you. You will always be remembered.
April 26, 2019
April 26, 2019
Jean was a guardian angel for so many individuals and organizations throughout her life. She now joins Barry watching over and guiding all of us for eternity. Her tireless effort, support, leadership, and generosity were instrumental in making our community what it is today. We are forever grateful, Jean, for everything you did, and thank you Schuyler and Kellogg families for sharing her with all of us.

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Recent Tributes
September 4, 2023
September 4, 2023
Ya know, I met Jean when Barry had made an app't. btwn. her & me for possibly a place to live. After awhile she asked me if I would like to go for a horseback ride & I immediately accepted. I had my saddle in the back of my pickup. We conversed while we saddled up and away we went. Friends forever...
September 1, 2023
September 1, 2023
I remember, Jean. How could anyone that knew you forget all you accomplished. R.I.P.
August 31, 2023
August 31, 2023
Happy Birthday Mom. Thinking you of with so much love and appreciation today.

Love, Kate
Her Life

This part still being added to and edited

April 24, 2019

As an advocate for women, Jean Schuyler was honored for her work with Planned Parenthood and Domestic Violence Solutions. With her husband Barry Schuyler (click here to visit his memorial), a UCSB Environmental Studies professor who died in 2011, Schuyler advocated for and supported the establishment of the Douglas Family Preserve, Ellwood Mesa, and the Sedgwick Reserve, among numerous other natural or wild places. She helped Fairview Gardens become the Center for Urban Agriculture and the Maritime Museum settle into Santa Barbara. Theater groups like the Granada and Ensemble all knew her generosity.

Schuyler grew up in Altadena and La Jolla, and graduated from Stanford University in 1949 with a teaching credential. An accomplished rider, who trained her first horse at age 8, many of Schuyler’s post-graduation years were spent on horseback as a camp counselor and at Midland School in the Santa Ynez Valley. She rode with the Sage Hens for 50 years. Despite a partially paralyzing stroke in 2009, Schuyler remained active though wheelchair-bound, attending two to three events and meetings daily. At an event in February for Wildling Museum, Schuyler, whose grandparents were good friends with John Muir and whose uncle would hike with Ansel Adams in the Sierras, was awarded the Wilderness Spirit Award, just one of the many accolades she received during her lifetime of giving back.

A celebration of Jean's life will be held on Sunday, June 30th, 2019 from 3:00-6:00 pm at the Santa Barbara Zoo.  For more details and to RSVP click here.

Recent stories

​Jean Schuyler - A Guiding Light for the Life Well Lived

May 1, 2019

Midland’s success as a bold experiment in a meaningful educational model owes a debt of gratitude to the guardians of its soul reaching all the way back to its founding ideals.  At its core - cultivated from its earliest decades onward by the Squibbs, Riches, and Schuylers - Midland was and still is a set of values, an idea, an ethic of leaving a place better than you found it.  Midland is the belief that it matters what we do, and the courage to instill responsibility in its students. Since the 1940s, the idea of Midland has been tended, inspired, and loved by Jean Schuyler - one of Midland’s original and life-time guardians - who passed peacefully from this world on April 17, 2019 surrounded by her family at home in Santa Barbara.

Jean is an angel of inspiration whose life offers a shining example of two things:  a life well lived and a life that lets others live lightly, purposefully, and joyfully.  

Jean’s husband, Barry, graduated from Midland in 1941.  Jean graduated from The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, then Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University.  They married in 1949. As a dynamic pair, they lived as faculty members at Midland, raising four kids, all born at Midland:  Ann, Peter, Kate, and John. Barry was a trustee for decades, and both were Midland champions for life. Midland was their home and the base camp from which they launched more public lives of service, purpose, and philanthropy in Santa Barbara.  The arts, educational, cultural, and environmental legacies of Santa Barbara can trace roots to Jean and Barry Schuyler, from the co-founding of the Environmental Studies Department at UCSB to land stewardship that defines Santa Barbara’s open spaces and native landscapes.

Jean shared much in common with Midland - an abiding commitment to simplicity, volunteerism, and always taking the time to notice, to know, and to enjoy the wildflowers, which she did as much as possible on horseback.  Her generosity was effusive, her philanthropy effective. She was a driving force behind the origin of Midland’s endowment, launched with lead gifts from the Schuyler, Kimpton, and Willrich families which established Midland’s ability to offer extensive financial aid and scholarships.  

Not even a stroke in her 80’s that partially paralyzed her left side could slow down her can-do spirit or gracious participation in all that life had to offer.  If anything, it highlighted her grace and it narrowed her focus and ability to get to the core of things. Jean holds the record - and we invite anyone to challenge this - for the most Thanksgivings attended at Midland in its 87-year history, right up until this past Thanksgiving, where she joined her Midland family at full strength and graciousness.

For all that Jean did to stoke the flames of Midland’s life and legacy - and for being one of its finest teachers demonstrating the life well lived - Midland School thanks and loves Jean Schuyler.  

By Lise Goddard

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