Leslie Ridley-Tree, Santa Barbara’s one-woman powerhouse of philanthropic giving, died this week at
the age of 97. Since moving to Santa Barbara in 1988 with her husband, Paul, who died in 2006, Ridley-Tree has given away untold hundreds of millions of dollars. In person, Ridley-Tree, with
her signature shock of preternaturally red hair, was direct, shrewd, funny, commanding, and blunt.
When Sansum CEO Kurt Ransohoff first approached Ridley-Tree about donating to what’s since become
the new cancer center, she teased him for not asking for more. Ultimately, she would donate $10.7
million. Ridley-Tree’s name is attached to pretty much every major institution in Santa Barbara, from
UCSB to City College, from the treatment of alcoholism to Alzheimer’s care.
Ridley-Tree — a onetime violin player turned torch singer — gave generously to the arts as well, most notably the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Music Academy of the West, and the Museum of Natural History. She was a sustaining and compassionate donor to Casa Esperanza, the former homeless shelter on Cacique Street, not only writing big checks but volunteering every week to work in the kitchen.