Patricia Deborah Hobbs di Grazia

Pebble Beach- Patricia “Debbie” Hobbs Miller di Grazia was born April 8, 1925 in Daytona Beach, Florida where her family had a winter home. Spending summers at the “shore” in Brielle, New Jersey and winters in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was the lifestyle of her parent’s, Marion Hobbs and Council Johnston Miller, and their friends—“snowbirds”. The New Jersey winter climate was too cold and the Florida summers were too hot, so they would travel by their yacht down the Atlantic Coast and inland waterways to Florida.

At 16, during World War II, Debbie attended Florida State College for Women to be near her parents. While at college she studied Languages and Drama, acted in Shakespearean plays and also directed college plays. She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority house where she lived.

During the summers she lived on the Jersey Shore. While attending a charity luncheon in which she was modeling, she was asked by a photographer if she would be interested in modeling in New York, a mere 40 minutes away by train. She decided to try it and was accepted as a “Harry Conover Cover Girl.” She proceeded to do magazine covers and billboards during her summer vacations from college. She became a Coca Cola model, and one of her billboards was placed on top of the Times Square Building in Times Square, Manhattan for two years. During that time Spiro Skouras of 20th Century Fox saw it and decided to offer her a test for movies. She was sent to Hollywood to try out for leading roles with many different actors. She acted in two plays at the “Bliss Hayden Theatre” in Beverly Hills. Soon thereafter at a cocktail party given by Lady Mendel she met Loris di Grazia, who was a Navy pilot. He proposed to her that very night and they were later married in 1946 in Palm Beach, Florida where her family was then living.

They lived in Sausalito, California for two years and then moved to Ross, California in 1949. She joined the Red Cross in San Francisco where she drove veterans to the hospital after the war. She joined “The Children’s Theatre,” and directed Children’s Theatre plays in Mill Valley until her two sons; Peter Hobbs di Grazia and Derek di Grazia were born. They moved to Kent Woodlands in 1955 and lived there for six years before moving to San Francisco where many of their friends resided.

She and her son Peter studied with Thomas Leighton who taught life drawing and painting. She then studied art and oil painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. She became a member of the S. F. Artist Cooperative where she was given her first “One Man Show.” She had two art shows in San Francisco before they retired to Pebble Beach in 1975 where they lived for 41 years. She continued her painting with John Cunningham at the Carmel Art Institute and later with George de Groat. She showed her work at the Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation where she was a member. She was also a member of the Monterey Museum of Art and the Carmel Art Association.

She traveled throughout Europe with her niece, nephew and son Peter. She bred horses at their farm in Carmel Valley as well as having a few that raced at Santa Anita. She and her son Derek both started riding in “Three Day Events’” as well as fox hunting with the Los Altos Hunt.

Tennis was also a favorite sport. She played on the B Team with Pebble Beach Inner Club and at John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley where she was a member.

Her large outdoor bird aviary where she originally bred endangered species of the Australian Red Cheeked Parakeet also included many other beautiful birds. She also loved Jack Russell Terriers which became an important part of her life. Painting, riding, tennis, gardening, and all of her animals were her life and she enjoyed every moment of it.

She was a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution. Both parents had ancestors that fought in the American Revolution and also the Civil War.

She called Pebble Beach her paradise as she looked out from her home at the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

She leaves her two sons, Peter and Derek di Grazia, whom she adored, and a brother, Council Johnston Miller, who lives in Florida. Loris, her beloved husband, passed away in 2006 at the age of 90. They had a long and wonderful life together.

In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations to the SPCA of Monterey County.

Please visit www.thepaulmortuary.com for condolences and guestbook.

Arrangements under the direction of The Paul Mortuary, Pacific Grove, CA.