Barbara Pritzkat

Barbara Ruth Wynn Pritzkat died on October 3, 2023, in the arms of her two surviving sons in the bedroom where all three of her sons had their earliest memories in the house she and her husband designed and built with their own hands in 1950.

Born in Santa Monica on February 5, 1926, to Hugh Wynn, a film editor, and Esther Wynn, an artist, she was raised in newly developed Cheviot Hills, scampering through the bean fields and imagining castles in the unfinished foundations of neighboring homes, with her younger sister, Patricia, and a gang of neighbor kids who remained lifelong friends. They would pester neighbor Stan Laurel, create dress-up parades, shop at the Piggly Wiggly, and visit Hugh at nearby MGM, squealing as the deck of the HMS Bounty pitched on the backlot and shyly collecting autographs.

She attended the University Elementary School at UCLA.  She thrived in its progressive and supportive environment, where she was empowered to believe she could accomplish anything, and where she developed her unique handwriting, as cursive writing was not part of the curriculum. Her childhood hero was Amelia Earhart, and she remembered fondly seeing the pioneering aviatrix at Mines Field (LAX) on a class field trip.

MGM prospered despite the depression, and the family led a storied life–until Hugh died suddenly in 1936. At that point the Barbara we knew, loved, and respected emerged. Concerned about her artistic mother’s ability to run the household, she resolved to be sensible, take charge, and place her faith in herself.

She graduated from Hamilton High in winter of 1944 and then went on to UCLA.  After a required senior semester at North Campus (U.C. Berkeley), she returned to UCLA in 1948 where she became its first woman to receive an engineering degree. After graduating she toured war ravaged Europe and Tunisia with her college roommate, Leonore Becker Baldwin, a life-changing trip that showed her the fragility of civilizations, both modern and ancient, and instilled in her a desire to travel as much as possible.

Upon her return she was hired by Jack Northrop to work for his aerospace firm, where she met Marty, her future husband of 70 years, while they both worked on the futuristic Northrop YB-49 “Flying Wing." The couple married in 1950 and soon bought an empty lot near the bluffs of Redondo Beach. Over the next two years Barbara worked at Northrop and Marty obtained his engineering degree from UCLA, and in their spare time they designed and built the home in which they lived, raised three sons, and ultimately died, all while maintaining broad interests and fueling their sense of adventure.

In 1955 they sailed to England and bought a BSA motorcycle (never before having ridden) and toured Europe for three months, returning with rich friendships and memories that influenced how Barbara wanted to live her life.

Carefree, childless days came to an end in 1956 with the birth of her first son Wynn. Always intellectually curious, Bar, as she liked to be called, joined the League of Women Voters, where she met women who inspired and shaped her–and remained lifelong friends.

A modest cook when first married, she took it upon herself to learn how to prepare the meals she and Marty had enjoyed on their trip and to understand the importance of nutrition. She became an amazing cook, baking her own bread, preparing exotic recipes and delicious desserts.  She blended the sophistication of Julia Child with the principles of Adele Davis, and she and Marty entertained frequently, filling the house with a unique menu of food and guests.

In the 1960s she began studies and travels focusing on ancient art, languages (Arabic, French, Greek and Italian), and after her third son was raised, she returned to UCLA to study archeology.

She then worked as an archeologist, more specifically as an archeological surveyor, from 1983 until 2009, most often with UCLA's Giorgio and Marilyn Buccellati at tel Mozan in northern Syria, but also in Jordan with the British Museum, and in Tunisia, with Michigan State University. No matter how remote the dig and hot and hard the work, she always found camaraderie and good humor–and ice for her gin-and-tonics. In 2009 at the age of 83, she decided that her adventures in the middle East were complete.

She then turned her attentions to a rigorous and structured weekly schedule of volunteerism for the Getty Center, the Natural History Museum, LAX Travelers Aid, the L.A. Conservancy, and Torrance Memorial Hospital. COVID restrictions ended this schedule, but not the friendships, thanks to email and Zoom. She brought various groups of friends, like her Polly's on the Pier group, her gym class friends, and her dear Avenue G neighbors, together for weekly gatherings in her home.  And she threw herself into revisiting her studies of algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and Greek.

In her life Barbara's bedrock and her greatest joy were her family, including three grandchildren and a great grandchild. Sunday dinners at the house were a long-standing tradition filled with lively discussions that ranged from world events to movies to the latest goings on of family and friends. These dinners always culminated in one of Bar’s famous desserts! At the last one, two days before she passed, and through the final hours of her life, she continued to observe the world around her with a sharp eye and a distinctive wit.

Preceded in death by her husband, Marty, and their son, Wynn, Barbara is survived by sons Miles (Cathie English) and Carl (Tony Travostino) and Wynn’s wife, Marian De Meire; grandchildren, Caitlin (Kevin Foley), Bella and Austin; and great-grandson, Amos.

A memorial is being planned for February 10, 2024, in Redondo Beach. For more information contact [email protected].  In lieu of flowers, plan an adventure, work out a quadratic equation, or simply raise a glass to this amazing woman!