"In 1908, eight sisters left Joliet, Illinois, for Santa Barbara, purchasing on their arrival with borrowed money, the Quiesesana hospital and sanitarium, which is now the building occupied by this hospital as a nurse’s home. They soon had a growing hospital but lacked financial backing, and were it not for the aid of the Franciscan Fathers, and assistance from the St. Joseph’s Hospital, of San Francisco, they would have been destitute.

The sisters had the will to persevere. They determined to place the institution in the first rank. “Service” was the watchword. It was a bitter and sometimes apparently a losing fight. Bit by bit the community saw the work of charity and care for the sick and rallied to the help of the Sisters.

With the aid, in part, of the public, in September, 1923, a new Saint Francis Hospital was finished. On that morning, never to be forgotten by those who were in Santa Barbara, June 29, 1925, the new building, less than two years old was twisted and shattered. Not a patient was injured. The building was damaged beyond a point of safety, and it was necessary to erect anew. At that time the Sisters had an indebtedness, on the cost of the building, of over $100,000.00. The general Relief Committee, from the funds raised throughout the state and in Santa Barbara, recognizing the work of charity and mercy of the Sisters, allocated of the funds raised, the sum of $220,000.00 toward the erecting of a new hospital. During the construction of the hospital, in order that the patients might have care and attention in the old nurse’s home, the Sisters expended $30,000.00 in reconstructing the old hospital into a temporary hospital, all of which was devoted to hospital work. The Sisters slept in rows in the garage and under the porches of the hospital, and it was necessary actually, in times of rain, for them to maintain umbrellas over their beds. Such is the spirit of Saint Francis Hospital.

The cost of the present hospital exceeded the funds available. Unsolicited gifts from the public, gifts from other hospitals of the same Order, all recognized the need of a hospital in Santa Barbara, with the Sisters, pledging their credit and resources, together with the money from the Relief Committee, have made possible the building of this hospital. A heavier debt than before the earthquake exists on the hospital, but with confidence in the patronage of the community, and its god will, the Sisters bravely approach the future."

Below is a list of graduates of Saint Francis School of Nursing. It is not a complete list, the names are from year books, The Antidote, for 1929, 1930 and 1931 and an alumni list contained in the 1929 yearbook. These yearbooks have been scanned, if you would like a copy of an image please contact our Research Team

Surname	Married name	First name	Grad Yr.	Home Town
Aloysiana	(Sister)	M.	1914
Ammons		Esther Lee	1929	Santa Paula
Angela	(Sister)	M.	1914	Santa Barbara
Arbeiter		Josephine	1917
Ardeiter		Mary	1912	Santa Clara
Bashford		Winifred	1926	Santa Barbara
Bell		Esther	1931
Benthall		M.	1930
Benthall	Reuter	Mary	1925	Santa Barbara
Brothers		Marjorie	1925	Santa Barbara
Callahan		Catherine		Santa Barbara
Campiglia		Josephine	1929	Santa Barbara
Carrothers		Hazel	1929	Ventura
Carter	Guilfoyle	Margaret	1920	Los Angeles
Cavalleri		P. (?)	Adm.	Santa Barbara
Cavalli		Genevieve	1928	Santa Barbara
Chauvel		Susan	1927	Santa Barbara
Chisholm		R.	Adm.	Santa Barbara
Clark	Tompkins	Helen	1910	Santa Barbara
Clementina	(Sister)	M.	1921	Santa Barbara
Coldren		B.	1930
Collins	Collins	Kathleen	1925	Santa Barbara
Cook		Crescence	1919	Santa Cruz
Cross		Phyllis	1931
Daly		Mary Elizabeth	1929	Lompoc
Delphina	(Sister)	M.	1914	Elgin, Ill
Doherty		Rose	1919	San Mateo
Donovan		J.	1930
Emmanuella	(Sister)	M.	1913	San Francisco
Farrellev		Anna	1931
Feeley	Stenson	Cecelia	1926	Santa Barbara
Fina	(Sister)	M.	1919	Santa Barbara
Fisher	McCormick	Aletha	1918	Hollywood
Foster	Foster	Anna	1918	Santa Maria
Fremouw		B.	1930
Gahwolf		Margaret	1931
Garrigue de la		M.	1930
Grisingher		T.	1930
Guerra		Rene	1929	Lompoc
Gutierrez		Theresa	1919	Santa Barbara
Hansen		Eveline	1931
Harrison	Warren	Frances	1925	Santa Barbara
Henrika	(Sister)	M.	1914	Danville, Ill
Horning		Mildred	1927	Santa Barbara
Hourthan		Nellie	1926	San Luis Obispo
Hughes	Spring	Ellen	1921	San Luis Obispo
Jacobs	Bennet	Anna	1912	Santa Clara
Jaeger		Kate	1928	Santa Barbara
Johnson		Ollie May	1929	Oxnard
Johnson		Mary	1931
Kelley		Alice	1926	Los Angeles
Klaren	Couture	Elizabeth A.	1916
Laubacker		Marcella	1931
Liebermann		Agnes	1925	Santa Ana
Lord		Helen	1920	Santa Barbara
Lord		H.	Supt	Santa Barbara
Lutz	(Sister)	M. Bertha		Los Angeles
Lyne		Rosemary	1928	Santa Barbara
Lyttle		Ethel	1931
Magni		Alice	1927	Santa Barbara
Maloney	Maloney	Minerva	1910	San Francisco
Marcianna	(Sister)	M.	1914	San Francisco
Marks		Lillian	1931
Martin		Dorothy	1924	Santa Barbara
Mautino	Perello	Clara	1921	Santa Barbara
Mayo		E.	1930
Meck		Viola	1931
Merkel	(Sister Superior)	Mary	1912	Santa Barbara
Mlynek		Emm	1927	Santa Barbara
Muller	(Sister)	Hedwig M.	1922	Los Angeles
Nidever		Anna	1910	Honolulu, T. H.
Obiols	Peterson	Inez	1928	Santa Barbara
Ortega	Reedy	Frances	1924	Santa Barbara
Ortega	Miller	Julia		Santa Barbara
Otero		Mary Elizabeth	1929	Santa Barbara
Paulus		Alma	1928	Santa Barbara
Petronella	(Sister)	Mary	1911	Chicago, Ill
Rezzonico		Elvezia	1929	Santa Barbara
Roderick		Ruth	1929	San Bernandino
Rowe		Barbara	1926	Goleta
Ruffner	Donnelly	Grace	1911	Santa Barbara
Salvatora	(Sister)	M.	1913	Joliet, Ill
Scholl	Humpheries	Theresa	1921	Santa Barbara
Schuster		H.	1930
Scott		Nora	1929	Edinburgh
Shea	Parks	Catherine	1915	Goleta
Sheehan		Mae	1925	St. Louis , Missouri
Sota	Scholl	Josephine	1916	San Luis Obispo
Stauble		H.	1930
Stein	Peck	Bertha	1912	Santa Barbara
Thompson		B.A.	Adm.	Santa Barbara
Treboal		M.	1930
Van Clief		Mildred	1926	Lompoc
Vitalis	(Sister)	M.	1922	San Francisco
Walker		C.	1930
Wassermann		Clara	1929	Falda, Germany
Wenzi		I or L	Adm.	Santa Barbara
Willson	Willson	Maude	1928	Santa Barbara
Wright	Steret	Alice	1925	Pomona
Zwimpfer		Helen	1929	Santa Barbara
Zwinglas		C. R.	Adm.	Santa Barbara