Jeff Lynn Korpela
Jeffrey Lynn Korpela was born in Syracuse, New York to Arthur and Jean Tuttle. The third of five boys.
His father and mother died during his childhood. For a while he and his brothers lived with relatives in rural upstate New York. In 1965 Jeff and his brothers were adopted by their Uncle Bill and Aunt Bertha (Tuttle) Korpela who resided in California. The family settled in Huntington Beach. He graduated from Marina High school. He enjoyed scouting (achieving the rank of Eagle scout), cross country running, little league, backpacking and developed his lifelong passion for cycling.
He met his spouse, Patti Gaultney, at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. They met in Calculus Class and became Physics lab partners. They both shared a love of science and math. They both moved on to UCSB in 1976. Jeff graduated from UCSB with a degree in Chemistry in 1978. His first job after graduation was at Santa Barbara Research Center (now Raytheon). Over the years he worked at several local companies and institutions including UCSB’s Chemical Engineering lab.
Jeff and Patti married in 1978 at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. Jeff loved the Santa Barbara area and remained in the area for the rest of his life.
In the early years of their marriage they enjoyed outdoor activities, especially cycling, backpacking and softball. Together they backpacked hundreds of miles in the High Sierras including the entire John Muir Trail, topping half dome in Yosemite and Mt Whitney. Jeff enjoyed long distance cycling, sometimes cycling over one hundred miles a day.
Soon. children came along. Their daughter, Kortney was born in 1983 and their son, Wesley was born in 1988. Patti and Jeff soon enjoyed the life of busy parents. Jeff was always there encouraging his children be it soccer games, piano recitals, plays, cross country or track meets. He loved being with his children as well as his beloved nieces. He was always up for an adventure with the kids. When the children were younger, he loved nothing better than throwing them in the bike carrier seat and going for a bike ride.
Jeff always had a great passion for mentoring and tutoring youth of friends and family. Pursuing this passion, he attended Cal State University Northridge at their satellite campus in Ventura in the evenings and received his teaching credential.
He taught at Santa Ynez and Cabrillo High Schools as well as many other schools and educational organizations. He also volunteered countless hours tutoring students.
Jeff was devoted to his beloved church, First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara. Jeff taught Sunday School for over 10 years incorporating science lessons and experiments into his biblical lessons. He loved volunteering for projects and missions well as enjoying the fellowship of his church family. He truly felt at home in the church. He especially loved the music and choir.
On Father’s Day, 2013 Jeff suffered a Grand Mal seizure due to severe hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels). This was the beginning of a series of health issues. He spent 2 months in the hospital and suffered brain damage which affected his speech and damaged the nerve pathways to his muscles which affected coordination and mobility. The neuromuscular condition continued to get worse over time. He lost his ability to ride a bike and his walking became severely impaired. During the next few years, he was in and out of hospitals on a regular basis for a variety of related and unrelated conditions. In 2018, he was diagnosed with Soft Tissue Sarcoma after a lump on his forearm was discovered. After multiply surgeries, radiation treatments, targeted therapies, he had his arm amputated in 2022. In early 2023, his cancer returned and metastasized to his lungs and other organs. In late December 2023 he entered home hospice care. He succumbed to his disease in the early hours of January 2, 2024, surrounded by his wife, Patti, his daughter, Kortney, his son, Wesley, his brother-in-law, Terry Gaultney, and niece April Gaultney.
During all of his treatments, surgeries, and hospital stays and through the pain Jeff remained his optimistic, kind, funny, smart, compassionate, quirky, and generous self. He told jokes to everyone he met, waved at strangers, despite having coordination issues he sent cards, notes, and messages with jokes, song lyrics and haikus to friends and acquaintances. He spread joy wherever he went. Despite everything he had a zest for life and a love of God. He attended and participated in as many events as he was able.
Jeff adored his grandsons, Thiago (Age 12) and Azael (age 7) Delgadillo. He loved playing games with them from chess to UNO to “Apples to Apples” which often inspired hysterical laughter. Before his seizure Thiago was constant companion on the back of his bike as they tootled around town. He enjoyed watching their team sports, concerts, tickling them, hiding things from them, and taking them out for ice cream. During his health-related struggles, these two boys kept a twinkle in his eye.
Jeff is survived by his wife of 45 years, Patti Gaultney; his children Kortney (Sourabh) Keshri and Wesley Korpela; his grandchildren Thiago and Azael Delgadillo; his brothers Brian and Lee Korpela; and his nieces Jerri and April Gaultney and Hailey Schultze.
A memorial service will be held February 17, 2024, at 11:00am at First United Methodist Church, 305 E Anapamu St, Santa Barbara, CA 93110 followed by a reception immediately following the service.