Eileen Kneeshaw Sibbald

On March 20, 2017, EILEEN KNEESHAW SIBBALD, matriarch of her family, passed away at 96 at Spring Lake Village in Santa Rosa. Born in San Diego on February 8, 1921, her independent spirit and outspoken honesty emerged early in her childhood. When her mother enrolled her in kindergarten too early, it was Eileen who persisted in convincing the administrators that she was ready for school. Raised in Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley, she worked hard to help her mother save to buy a house and fix it up during the years of the Depression. After attending Berkeley High School, she went on to study psychology at UC Berkeley, where she graduated in 1942. She married John Sibbald, a fellow Berkeley student, on November 25, 1942 after the start of World War II, before moving to Wyoming for John’s officer training. Throughout the war, she continued to defy the social limitations of her time, teaching herself to drive and managing her earnings from her work as a clerical worker in order to build a life for herself and her husband. When John returned from his service in WWII, they built their first house in El Cerrito and started their family. It was also in El Cerrito that she began her 30-year career as a real estate agent and broker, in which she worked to find homes to meet the needs and budgets of women and their families. Her business acumen and real estate experience were an invaluable contribution to the development of the Summit View Ranch Properties in Santa Rosa and to the building of her husband’s successful landscaping company in Marin County. As a founder of the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association, she was an active member of her community even as she balanced her career and her role caring for her family. True to her old-school background, Eileen’s motto was “Always do the best you can,” and she worked hard to live with spirit, integrity, and a dedication to helping and guiding others. She loved spending time with her friends, and her family was the most important part of her life. Predeceased by her husband, John, she is survived by her sons, Brian (Katherina) and Scott (April Chapman), six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Her final resting place is in Santa Rosa Memorial Park with her husband and her mother. Memorial services will be private.