Karl John Kassity
We lost an extraordinary man, Dr. Karl Kassity, on September 29th, 2024. He passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his family on Sunday afternoon, at 92 years young. A long-time resident of Santa Barbara, Karl was born at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Annette DiAntonio and Alexander Kassity, and spent his early years in Cheltenham. The family relocated to Buffalo before moving to Altadena, CA in 1949, eventually settling in Encino, where Karl attended Van Nuys Senior High School. He went on to graduate from Loyola College, class of 1954. He was the oldest of 4 children: Alexandra (Sandra) Kassity (deceased), Robert (Bob) Kassity and Barbara (Babs) Kassity-Lowell.
Karl lived a full, beautiful, & accomplished life excelling both personally and professionally. He was a highly regarded physician, respected on both local and international levels, and achieved great success as a businessman. He married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Joan Taft, August 20th, 1955. They were married 25 years, and had 3 children: Mark, Nadine, and Jeannine. Karl attended and graduated Medical School at Marquette Medical School of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He was Board certified in Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine. He served our Country as a Physician and Flight Surgeon in the Air Force- where he spent 3 yrs in Europe on a G.I. Bill stationed at RAF Chelveston in Rushden, England. Upon completing his service requirement, he was Honorably Discharged and returned to Canoga Park, California, where he completed his Internship and Residency in Anesthesia at UCLA and LA County Medical Center. Karl was recruited and asked to join Cottage Hospital, in Santa Barbara, where he moved his wife and family in 1965.
Karl went on to have a very impressive, remarkable, and distinguished career, joining the Santa Barbara Anesthesia Medical Group in 1965, as the 7th member of the Group. He later took on the position of Chief of Staff at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, serving from 1984 to 1985. He not only served as the pioneering anesthesiologist for the first and numerous subsequent open-heart surgeries at Cottage Hospital, but also maintained an impeccable record throughout his career, never losing a patient under his care as an anesthesiologist. Karl was the founding Medical Director of the Cottage Outpatient Surgical Center and played a key role in its establishment. He further wrote the groundbreaking manual on ambulatory surgery, The Ambulatory Surgical Center, in addition to producing numerous other notable publications. He was also a vital member of President Reagan’s Western White House Medical Team at Rancho Cielo, situated just north of Santa Barbara. Karl was invited to travel to Jerusalem, Israel for 3 months to share and teach the advancements of Western Medicine and Anesthesiology at Hadassah Hospital in 1974, moving his wife and children temporarily for an experience of a lifetime with the bonus of being emersed in the family’s Catholic Faith. He held many Board positions in the Santa Barbara community including 8 years on the Cottage Board of Directors, Wood Glen Hall, Casa Dorinda, Aviation Country Club and La Cumbre Country Club. Additionally, he was a critical part of building the new wings at Cottage Hospital from a medical and fundraising perspective. Even after retirement, Karl attended Grand Rounds at Cottage on a regular basis as he loved to learn and had a passion and unwavering commitment toward medicine, patients, colleagues, and staff. The list of accomplishments and appointments goes on and that is to say, he was interested and curious in most everything, and he put 110% into whatever he did. He even became a wine connoisseur in his later years and enjoyed a nice glass of red wine. In September of 1989 he married Patricia Stetson Looman. They were married 35 years.
He was very active with his family snow skiing all over the world including heli-skiing in Europe, our Mammoth condominium which he purchased on a handshake in 1968 was and will always remain a family favorite. He loved water skiing, windsurfing, boating, traveling globally, scuba diving, and cruising-too many cruises to count- he organized a Mexico family reunion cruise in 1990 of 32 family members-the first of many more cruises to come. He played tennis- a member of SB Tennis Club, loved golf- he was a long-standing member of La Cumbre Country Club, he was an avid reader, and a history buff who loved playing the guitar. He spent many years enjoying stag ski trips and river rafting adventures, had a deep appreciation for museums, and loved listening to the Barbershop Quartet- he was truly a lifelong learner. Close to retirement he pursued his pilot’s license and flew for many years. He loved his flying group with the Aviation Country Club and his Men’s (“The Gents”) Monthly Luncheon, and Men’s Golf Group, The Campaneros, at La Cumbre Country Club. Even with his full schedule, most of all he treasured every moment spent with his family, fully enjoying, and cherishing the experiences they shared.
Karl was generous, poised, lived with integrity and was always a teacher to his children and grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, 2 siblings, 3 children, 4 grandchildren: Steven, Jonathan, Sophia, and Gable, 2 great grandchildren, Cooper and Reese and a large extended family. We were incredibly lucky to have quality and quantity time with our Dad. He will be forever in our hearts, and we will carry on his incredible legacy. His life was absolutely a life well lived. We love you, Dad!
As Dad would say in many toasts, “May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm on your face, And the rain fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand.”
In leu of flowers please donate to Cottage Hospital where he spent his 40-year career and his life long pursuit of helping those in need and a Cottage Hospital Charitable Benefactor, himself: Cottage Advancement | PO Box 689 | 400 W. Pueblo Street | Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0689.
The family will be planning a Celebration of Life in January of 2025.