The Story of Barbara Benham Dittmann

Barbara Ethel Benham Dittmann, born January 20, 1943 in Hollywood, California died in the early morning of June 18, 2020 in the midst of the viral pandemic of a century. Having survived a diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer (lifelong non-smoker) for nine years, Barbara’s struggle ended somewhat unexpectedly last month at home surrounded by family. Barbara is survived by her husband William (Bill) H. Dittmann, daughter Katherine Anne, son Matthew (Matt) David and faithful feline, Kika. She has two living brothers, James Benham of Northridge CA, and Harry Benham of Bozeman MT.

Barbara grew up in the San Fernando Valley, at times joking that she was the original “Valley Girl” as a nod to husband Bill’s love of the musician Frank Zappa. Barbara’s mother, Ethel McCoy, and father, James Benham, had moved from Williams, AZ to Van Nuys, CA where James worked in the aircraft industry and Ethel raised the family before becoming a school teacher. The family later moved to Northridge where Barbara graduated from Reseda High School. Barbara fondly recalled weekend trips to Laguna Beach to visit her aunt Enid whose home overlooked the beach, where she would spend time with friends and attend art shows.

Barbara and Bill met in their sophomore year at UC Santa Barbara where Barbara studied the social sciences and English with distinction. Together they enjoyed outings with their friends in and around campus, in particular live music shows discovering the newly budding genres of folk and progressive anthems of the age. A favorite hangout was a Beatnik cafe called Omtae where Bill and Barb were introduced to espresso for the first time. And of course, they spent many nights at parties doing the “surfer stomp.”

Bill surprised Barbara with a marriage proposal just before their senior year, which she enthusiastically accepted. They were married the day after graduation on June 13, 1965 and promptly left to study German at the Goethe Institute and travel around Europe in their used VW Beetle (which was later bequeathed to daughter Katherine) on a limited budget of $5.00 a day. In late October that year, they loaded the car on a freighter and crossed the Atlantic to Baltimore, then sped across the USA to Barbara’s grandfather’s ranch in Williams, AZ with exactly $1.00 left from the trip. Barbara’s grandfather generously gave them $25.00 to return to Barbara’s family home in Northridge before arriving at Bill’s family home in Piedmont two days later. 

Barbara received her elementary teaching credential from UC Berkeley, and began teaching in Orinda where she taught first grade for two years before moving to San Rafael where Barb taught kindergarten at Bahia Vista and San Pedro schools. She and her team partner Neal Bringle developed an acclaimed kindergarten program to meet the needs of a diverse population. Barbara retired in 2000 after 35 years.

As a bilingual teacher (Spanish), Barbara taught English as a second language to adult immigrants. She was a board member of the Canal Alliance and Marin Heritage, an active member of the Rafael Racquet Club, and foster parent to kittens from the Marin Humane Society. After retirement, Barbara spent time playing tennis and formed close friendships with the members of her tennis team. She continued to practice yoga and was an avid bird watcher. Barbara and Katherine took yoga retreats together in Costa Rica and Mexico. She and Bill enjoyed traveling and visited England, Ireland, Spain, France, Greece, Croatia, Peru and the Galapagos, and the Baltic Sea together, in addition to shorter trips to Williams, AZ to stay at the family ranch. For their 50th Anniversary the family spent a week in Paris followed by a canal trip through Bourgogne. Barbara was a kind and caring woman who touched many lives and will be greatly missed.