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Dr Grace Honora Sharp Thille

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Birth	:	5 Sep 1875 Ventura County, California, USA
Death	:	27 May 1979 Ventura County, California, USA
Burial	:	Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery, Santa Paula, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate	:	34.3535995, -119.0785980
Description	:	OBIT: Dr. Grace Sharp Thille, 103, whose life spanned nearly the whole history of Ventura County and who became a physician at the time when almost no women were in that profession, died Sunday. Death came at the historic family home on Telegraph Road between Santa Paula and Ventura, where she had lived almost all her life. The Victorian mansion was built in 1890. She had outlived all her contemporaries and the only survivors, according to a spokesman for the Skillin-Snyder Funeral Home, are nieces and nephews. Dr. Grace, as she was known to so many, was born Sept.... Read More	OBIT: Dr. Grace Sharp Thille, 103, whose life spanned nearly the whole history of Ventura County and who became a physician at the time when almost no women were in that profession, died Sunday. Death came at the historic family home on Telegraph Road between Santa Paula and Ventura, where she had lived almost all her life. The Victorian mansion was built in 1890. She had outlived all her contemporaries and the only survivors, according to a spokesman for the Skillin-Snyder Funeral Home, are nieces and nephews. Dr. Grace, as she was known to so many, was born Sept. 5, 1875, near Santa Rosa. She was the eldest of eight children of a hard-working but impecunious farmer, James Sharp. The family moved to Oregon when she was one and to the Santa Clara Valley in 1887. Ventura County was just five years old. She was the brightest student at Santa Paula High School, and early on had her eye on a medical career. She attended both Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley, then graduated from Cooper Medical College at San Francisco in 1899. This institution was the forerunner of Stanford University Medical School. She was licensed on her 24th birthday in 1899, the last year medical licenses were granted without examination in California. Only one other woman had become a licensed physician up to that time. An epidemic of tuberculosis swept the Bay Area, and in particular the medical school: "The epidemic killed nearly all the students I graduated with," she said. "It almost killed me, too, but I went up into the hills and fought it." She practiced in the Santa Paula area, but only for about five years. "Only one patient gave me any money during that five years," she told a reporter many years later. "One man used to give me $50 gold pieces to take care of his daughter. He was a good man." Another man, she said, had threatened her and she took along a gun in her buggy. When he tried to grab the reins of her horse, she produced the weapon and "he galloped off like a streak." On another occasion, she was delivering a baby when the coal oil lamp sputtered out and the room was plunged into darkness. She had to interrupt the delivery to locate a lantern on the back porch. She found that bookkeeping paid better than medicine. "I earned about $300 from different companies," she recalled. "That was a lot of money then. Much more than I ever got as a doctor." When an aunt died, she was thrust into raising four nephews and nieces. One of those was rancher James Sharp. Grace had never married. She almost did at 25, she once said, "but the fella told me a lie, so that put him off the map." What the lie was went unrevealed. Then, at age 50, she married John Peter Thille, whose family had come to the Santa Clara Valley in 1890. He was seven years her junior and had never been married either. A man who knew poverty in his youth, Mr. Thille became a highly successful farmer and businessman as well as Santa Paula's pioneer aviator, and founder of the Santa Paula Aero Club. The marriage lasted 47 years until Mr. Thille's death in 1971 at the age of 87. There were no children. As the Thilles prospered, they gave to many causes. In 1959 the family made a $350,000 donation to start construction of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. They also made donations to St. Joseph's Convalescent Home and Villanova Preparatory School in the Ojai Valley and donated the property on which Sacred Heart Catholic Church is located. The Crippled Children's Society and the Ventura County Symphony were other beneficiaries of their generosity, along with many unpublicized donations. Dr. Grace, a tiny slip of a woman, hardly ever talked about these gifts publicly. "I hate publicity," she said on many occasions. Life-long Catholics, the Thilles were honored by their church in 1967 when James Francis Cardinal McIntyre presented papal honors to both. Dr. Grace received the Papal Cross and her husband the Order of Knighthood of St. Gregory. Being a Catholic didn't prevent Dr. Grace from playing the organ at the Santa Paula Presbyterian Church, however. Rosary is scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday at the Skillin-Snyder Mortuary, Santa Paula. Requiem mass will be at 10 a.m., Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Saticoy. Star-Free Press, May 28, 1979

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Dr Grace Honora Sharp Thille's memorial?
Dr Grace Honora Sharp Thille's memorial is located at: Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery, Santa Paula, Ventura County, USA.
When did Dr Grace Honora Sharp Thille death?
Dr Grace Honora Sharp Thille death on 27 May 1979 in Ventura County, California, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Dr Grace Honora Sharp Thille's memorial?
Latitude: 34.3535995
Longitude: -119.0785980

Family Members:

Parent

James Meikle Sharp

(1844 - 1932)

Susanna Rebecca Plank Sharp

(1851 - 1934)

Spouse

John Peter Thille

(1883 - 1971)

Siblings

Jennie Wilson Sharp Duval

(1878 - 1978)

Edgar Sharp

(1880 - 1918)

Hubert Chester Sharp

(1882 - 1956)

Leslie Theodore Sharp

(1888 - 1975)

Carroll Peter Sharp

(1891 - 1923)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery
Santa Paula, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3535995, -119.0785980

2. Richardson Family Cemetery
Santa Paula, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3437350, -119.0463940

3. Bardsdale Cemetery
Fillmore, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3610992, -118.9403000

4. Saint Columbas Episcopal Church Columbarium
Camarillo, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2331850, -119.0554690

5. Pleasant Valley Cemetery
Camarillo, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2158480, -119.0373060

6. Camarillo Family Mausoleum
Camarillo, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2151690, -119.0361310

7. Santa Clara Cemetery
Oxnard, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2305984, -119.1821976

8. Ivy Lawn Memorial Park
Ventura, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2518997, -119.2153015

9. Trinity Lutheran Church Columbarium
Ventura, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2772220, -119.2394440

10. In The Shadow Of The Cross Memorial Garden
Oxnard, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2158818, -119.1807445

11. Saint Pauls Episcopal Church Memorial Garden
Ventura, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2759070, -119.2522820

12. Saint Andrews Episcopal Church Columbarium
Ojai, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4454300, -119.2513700

13. Saint Thomas Aquinas Cemetery
Ojai, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4301250, -119.2650250

14. Ojai Presbyterian Church Columbarium
Ojai, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4494250, -119.2530420

15. Nordhoff Cemetery
Ojai, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4446600, -119.2604400

16. Ojai United Methodist Memorial Garden
Ojai, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4437040, -119.2665540

17. Cemetery Memorial Park
Ventura, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2811900, -119.2800700

18. First United Methodist Church Ventura Columbarium
Ventura, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2793589, -119.2819936

19. Conejo Mountain Memorial Park
Camarillo, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.1805970, -119.0034930

20. Saint Paul United Methodist Church Memorial Garden
Oxnard, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.1815060, -119.1806660

21. Mission San Buenaventura Cemetery
Ventura, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2811890, -119.2982090

22. Masonic Cemetery
Port Hueneme, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.1622009, -119.1477966

23. Japanese Cemetery
Port Hueneme, Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.1618996, -119.1496964

24. Olson Family Cemetery
Ventura County, USA
Coordinate: 34.2263300, -118.8688700