Chase’ing the Trailblazer

Simon Kerry, great nephew of the late visionary Pearl Chase, has been busy publicizing his book Miss Chase: Santa Barbara’s Trailblazer in our rarefied enclave.

Simon, 53, educated at Eton College, as were princes William and Harry, and Cambridge University, also holds the title of 11th Earl of Kerry, and in due course will become Marquess of Lansdowne, living in the splendid stately pile Bowood House on 4,000 lush acres in Wiltshire.

The 240-page book is a lavish tribute to his relative who toiled for 70 years working on preservation, social services, and civic activism, serving on hundreds of committees and receiving more than 80 national, state, and local awards, including two honorary doctorates.

Kerry, who spoke to the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation at the Presidio Chapel and a bijou reception at Tecolote, the bibliophile bastion in the Upper Village, traces Chase’s early life and college years at UC Berkeley through to her move to Santa Barbara and her indelible impact on both here and the nation.

Quite the character…