Ava Jean (Barber) (Pischel) Brumbaum

Jul 11, 1922 - Feb 2, 2020

Ava Jean Brumbaum passed away peacefully on February 2, 2020, at the age of 97.

Ava Jean was born July 11, 1922 to Oscar and Ava Elizabeth Barber of Berkeley. She was the third of four children. She fondly remembered her childhood summers at Fallen Leaf Lake in the Tahoe basin. She attended public schools and UC Berkeley, where she majored in pre-med. While at university, she was introduced to the San Francisco Symphony during a sorority event, leading to her lifelong love and support of the organization, including serving as a member of their board for over 70 years. Her lab training made her eligible for a summer job at the Marine Biological lab at Woods Hole on Cape Cod, an experience she treasured her entire lifetime. After graduation from UC Berkeley, she worked at the Western Regional Research lab and subsequently at the Crocker Radiation lab on the UC Campus.

In 1944 Ava Jean met Harold Dorhmann Pischel while skiing. At the time he was a naval officer attached to Treasure Island. They were married the following year. Soon after, they moved to a house on Sixth Avenue in San Francisco, ultimately living there for 40 years, and raising their four children (Tom, Harold Jr. (Kap), Peter and Ava). Harold’s position in the Dohrmann Company required a number of European trips. European skiing augmented the many US ski trips for the whole family.

A few years after Harold Pischel’s death in 1985, Ava Jean married Harold Brumbaum, an Episcopal priest. When he retired, the couple moved to Nicasio in Marin County where they enjoyed rural ranch life. There, she was able to continue her passions for gardening and playing tennis. She also volunteered at the local schoolhouse and rode horses with her grandchildren. Ava Jean and Harold enjoyed their summers at Fallen Leaf Lake and Shell Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands. Their happy marriage lasted 20 years, until Harold Brumbaum’s passing in 2007.

The last years of Ava Jean’s life were spent in Nicasio where she enjoyed time with her loved ones and continued her lifelong involvement with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, which, along with a memoir writing group and a reading group, brought her many friends.

In addition to her two husbands Ava Jean was preceded in death by three of her children, Harold Jr. (Kap) Pischel, Peter Pischel, and Ava Elizabeth Elliott. Despite out-living two husbands, her siblings, and three children, she was clear that she had a long wonderful life filled with good people and many great experiences.

She is survived by her son Tom (Carol) Pischel, sonsin-law Bob Veeneman and Lloyd Elliott, four grandchildren, Evan (Jessica) Tudor Elliott, Aaron (Justine) Elliott, Ava Elise (Ross) Fraser, and Kristin Pischel, and her great-grandson Lubo Tudor Elliott.