03/17/2026
Volunteer Spotlight: Delphine Dannemiller
Delphine Dannemiller grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, studied psychology in college, and moved to Santa Barbara in 1962 as a newlywed. She has lived here ever since, raising her four children in the community she quickly came to love.
A series of profound losses eventually guided her to Hospice of Santa Barbara. In 1988, her sister’s 22-year-old son died of bone cancer. Delphine traveled to Evanston to support her sister in any way she could – doing laundry, walking the dog, watering plants, and tending to the many small tasks that become overwhelming during such a time. Shortly after she returned home, her neighbor also became terminally ill with cancer. Experiencing these back-to-back losses made Delphine realize how important it was to understand how best to care for families facing similar tragedies.
Delphine immediately began volunteer training in 1988. She deeply valued the knowledge and guidance by Gail Rink throughout the program. In those early years, HSB had only a handful of employees, working out of a small building on Garden or Olive Street near Carrillo. When HSB and VNA later merged, the combined organization moved to an office on Junipero Street.
Delphine remembers the first Serenity House, a small unit with five patient rooms at what is now Valle Verde. After the construction of the current Serenity House, VNA became independent again, and Delphine chose to remain with HSB. Throughout her many years with HSB, she has watched the organization expand its services, adding pet therapy, music and art therapy, poetry, and many other meaningful programs.
