Paula Susan Westbury

Former Southold resident Paula Susan Westbury died peacefully Jan. 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, Calif. She was 70.

Born May 24, 1943, Paula was the first daughter of Paul E. and Fay N. Westbury. Growing up in Santa Barbara, she excelled in school and was active in many organizations. She went on to attend and graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, where she met her future husband.

Shortly after graduation, she and her husband moved to Southold and had a son, Matthew. She worked for 16 years as a social worker at the Suffolk County Department of Social Services, protecting children from familial abuse.

In the early 1990s, Paula made significant life changes, separating from her husband and beginning an extensive journey of self-discovery. She returned to Santa Barbara, where she studied massage, energy healing, art, folk dance and yoga. She was vocal and passionate about preserving the historic architecture of Santa Barbara and spent much of her time hiking and exploring its natural beauty. She had a lifelong love of horses and a great admiration of the native Chumash people and their history. Paula was also an appreciative member of the Unitarian and Unity churches. A loving and devoted mother and grandmother, Paula wished upon everyone she met “much love and happiness.”

Paula was predeceased by her parents, with whom she was very close. She leaves behind her family in New York: her son, Matt Kurek, his wife, Maggie, and her grandsons, Galen and Zinn, all of whom she loved dearly; and her sisters, Marsha Cutler and Lynette Baird, both of California.

This is a paid notice.