Priscilla Adams Small

July 28, 1914 - July 2, 2016

Passed away July 2, 2016 in her Montecito home at Casa Dorinda. She was almost 102 years old. She was born July 28th, 1914, the day deemed as the beginning of World War I. Born Priscilla Adams, she was raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and moved to Anaheim, California when she was a6. In 1941, Priscilla married John G. Thompson and moved to Helena, Montana, his birthplace. She became the mother of three daughters and, with her New England self-reliance, her natural elegance, abundant humor, and classic gentility, she managed a beautiful home. She assisted her husband in his career pursuits, was a volunteer in numerous activities at a state level, became prominent in the Republican party as the wife of a Montana State Representative, and played golf and duplicate bridge at a competitive level. She was passionate about genealogy and traveled frequently to the Mormon Library in Salt Lake City to research her American heritage. Later in her life, Priscilla married Floyd O. Small, a dry witted Montana attorney who became the oldest practicing lawyer in the state. Eventually they began wintering in Santa Barbara so they could live closer to her brother, John L. Adams, and to the ocean she missed. They joined Birnam Wood Golf Course in 1984 and made a new set of friends. After Floyd passed away, Priscilla moved to Casa Dorinda and continued to live life in full flush for 19 years. Almost to the day of her last breath, she was walking the Casea grounds at a full clip and continued to be curious and enthusiastic about what the day would bring. Priscilla is preceded in death by her two husbands, her daughter Cathy Thompson, and her granddaughter Priscilla Adams Page. She is survived by her daughters, Barbara Hadley at Casa Dorinda and Victoria Treece in Denver and Aspen, Colorado. Her immediate family includes her three grandsons, David T. Page, Langdon F. Page, and Nathan Harnish as well as eight great grandchildren. A memorial service, followed by a reception, are planned on Priscilla's birthday, July 28th, at 4:00 pm at Casa Dorinda. Memorial donations can be made to the Casa Dorinda Scholarship Fund at The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.