Katherine Isaacson’s son John recalls how after a lifetime of sacrifice and giving to others — her family, her students, her church — his mother embraced her talent for song. | Credit: Courtesy

Katherine Laughlin Isaacson: 1946-2013

In Memoriam By John Isaacson | Wed Oct 30, 2019 | 12:30pm

It’s been six years since my mother’s passing, and I still ponder her life and death. As I grew up, I saw her change from a self-sacrificing parent to a woman who sought the fulfillment of her own dream.

My mother, Katherine Laughlin Isaacson, was born to Herb and Rosemary Laughlin in New Hampshire, but the family moved and settled in Santa Barbara. Herb and Rosemary raised their four children on Schoolhouse Road in Montecito. Their home was large enough to have an elevator, with peacocks roaming the grounds.

Herb hosted gatherings at which he would play flamenco guitar with his teacher, Pepe Romero. He had operated two record stores: House of Sound in San Francisco and Sea of Records on Coast Village Road in Montecito. A classical music aficionado, he owned state-of-the-art stereo equipment for playing his favorite German marches and operas.