Dr. Gretchen Fall Burnett

Dr. Gretchen Fall Burnett, 76, of Carpinteria, passed away following a brief illness on March 22, 2016, with
family by her side. Born March 5, 1940, to Mart Robert and Edna Marie Swanson Fall of Seattle. She attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington. In 1968, Gretchen married Henry Bowen Burnett, Jr. and moved with him to Marina del Ray California where she became an accomplished potter, a craft for which she later became well-known in Santa Barbara. The couple eventually made their home in Montecito where they lived for twenty years. Gretchen returned to school and earned her doctorate in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She built a successful practice in Santa Barbara as a psychotherapist where her clients thrived under her compassionate care.

After Hank’s death in 1989, Gretchen moved to Carpinteria, where she quickly fell in love with the community. She was a volunteer with Friends of the Carpinteria Library, as well as an avid student of Spanish and Tai Chi. In 2014, Gretchen retired from practice and spent time traveling with friends and visiting family on the east coast. Gretchen was known for her generous good nature, high spirits, and her compassion for others. She was loved by all who knew her, and she will be deeply missed.

Gretchen is survived by her beloved niece Lisa Fall Toler; her aunt, Mina Fall; four Fall cousins: Mina J., Lisa, David, and Stephen; her stepchildren Whiteley Burnett Wheeler, Alicia Adams Burnett, and William Nicholas Burnett II (Nick); brothers-in-law Dr. Bruce Burnett and David Burnett; six step-grandchildren, twelve nieces and nephews, and twenty-four grand-nieces and nephews. Gretchen was predeceased by her husband, her parents, and her brother, Daniel Fall of Laguna Niguel, California.