Dr. Dale Migliaccio
Dr. Dale Migliaccio passed away on December 6, 2024, at Serenity House in Santa Barbara. Dale was a beloved chiropractor and a wealth of wisdom, practicing for forty years.
Dale was born in New Jersey to a large Italian family. He was often called “Mig,” or Mike – his middle name was Michael. As a child he earned the unfortunate nickname “Mussolini” —given with love and laughter—because of the way he took charge of every game the kids played. He decided what the rules were, and who played which part. Somehow the kids went along, partly because Dale was one of the eldest, and because his natural confidence and leadership made it seem like the way things should be. He ran the show, and though he could be frustrating at times, he was also admired for it.
That same leadership reigned throughout his life. As a successful chiropractor and wellness clinic owner in Santa Barbara, Dale poured his energy, skill and heart into helping others. His patients didn’t just see him as a doctor, but also as a gifted healer they trusted and cherished. Leading with confidence transformed into a life of purpose, where he used compassion and skill to guide his patients to better health.
Dale graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey, majoring in history. After, he took a gap year in Utah, skiing, rock-climbing, and working at a ski-lodge restaurant. A rock-climbing accident helped to set Dale’s career direction. He dislocated his shoulder, and after an emergency room doc put his shoulder back in, was told that he would need at least 6 months to heal before he would be out climbing and skiing again. He sought the services of a chiropractor who practiced Touch for Health, a healing technique using kinesiology. He found relief, bought a book on Touch for Health, and started practicing the technique on himself. In about 6 weeks, Dale was back on the climbing trail. He decided then to become a chiropractor and spent the next couple of years working at Follow Your Heart, a natural foods restaurant near Los Angeles, while taking science prerequisites for chiropractic school.
During this time, he married his first wife Janice Cook, whom he met at Follow Your Heart, and a few months later began chiropractic school at Cleveland Chiropractic College in downtown Los Angeles. He made close friends with other students, and they studied intensely together, supporting each other through those three years of graduate study. When finished, Dale worked in West LA for a couple of years, learning Sacro-Occipital Technique from his mentor, Dr. David Denton.
Eventually Dale and Janice moved to Santa Barbara to start a practice with Dale’s friend from chiropractic school, Dr. Peter Levy, eventually joined by another friend, Dr. Sobyl Bunis. During this time Dale and Janice welcomed children Mathew and Sarah.
The partners practiced together for several years, before Dale eventually started his solo practice, Santa Barbara Wellness for Life on upper State Street. After a divorce, Dale remarried Laurie Dean, who helped him grow his solo practice and was a much-loved presence in the office for over twenty years.
Dr Dale brought a unique skill set to his chiropractic practice. He diagnosed the whole person, addressing physical, mental and emotional conditions. He loved learning, and continuously researched health problems and nutrition. He brought advanced methods and supportive technology into the clinic. This included nutrition analysis, pulsed electromagnetic field equipment (PEMF), and brain health and performance diagnostics using neurofeedback therapies. He shared his knowledge generously to make a positive difference in his patients’ lives.
Dale was an avid sports fan, especially of soccer, and was devoted to the UCSB Gaucho’s men’s team. Some of the players came to him for treatment. He never missed a game! He also loved to ride his bike in the Santa Barbara hills. He loved challenging himself.
Dale was also an excellent cook. His Friday night dinners with Laurie and the kids and good friends were legendary, as were his elaborate holiday dinners, for which he cooked for days.
His absence is felt deeply by his many patients, as well as his family in California, Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including his wife Laurie, his children Mathew (Katie Owens) and Sarah (Jeff Barnes), granddaughters Willa and Georgie, former wife Janice Knight and husband Jim, brother-in-law Jules Dean, sisters Robin Ashford and Jill Migliaccio, brothers Wayne Migliaccio, Doug and Bill Conklin, and Brian Dietrich, and many nieces and nephews and extended family. Dale, you are missed.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.