Gale Davidson Busch passed away peacefully on November 19, 2020 with her loving husband by her side. Gale was a beautiful, intelligent, and much-loved lady. She was born in Redlands, California on November 15, 1942 to Dr. Donald C. Davidson and June A. Davidson. The family moved to Santa Barbara in 1947 when her father became Librarian of UCSB. He served in that position for 30 years and part of the library is named after him.
Gale went to Peabody, La Cumbre, and Santa Barbara High. She spent her summers riding her horse and enjoying Hendry’s Beach. After graduation from SBHS she attended Stanford University, graduating in 1964. At Stanford she met her future husband, Ronald E. Busch, who at the time was a graduate student in engineering.
Gale and Ron were married on August 5, 1967 at All Saints-by-the-Sea. They established residence in Manhattan Beach, as both had jobs in nearby El Segundo. Gale spent most of her working career at Computer Sciences Corporation where she broke though the “glass ceiling” to become Vice President of Finance. For many years she was the highest-ranking female in the corporation. CEO Hoover would start senior management meetings “Gentlemen and Gale.”
Gale and Ron spent much of their leisure time playing beach volleyball and tennis. The beach was very convenient as they lived on the Manhattan Beach Strand for 15 years.
Gale and Ron moved to Santa Barbara in November 1988 after retiring. They first joined the Tennis Club of Santa Barbara and then in 1998 switched to La Cumbre Country Club. They met many good friends at both clubs.
In Santa Barbara Gale got involved in non-profits. She served on many boards including Music Academy of the West, and Los Positas Park Foundation. But her real love was education. Not only was her father in education, but her grandfather, “Pop” Reynolds, was a highly regarded professor of engineering at Stanford. Therefore, she became involved with the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara and served on its board for over twenty years.
Gale is survived by her loving husband, her sister Jean Davidson and husband Robert Feinstein, niece Sarah Feinstein, husband Eyal Porat and children Donny, Maya, and Shani, and nephew Samuel Feinstein and wife Katie Higgins. A special thanks to Maria Santayo, Gale’s loving care giver these last months.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Busch Family Scholarship or the Davidson Family Scholarship at the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
