10/30/2025
For more than four decades, Paul Didier was a fixture in Santa Barbara’s nonprofit world. As President and CEO of United Way from 1974 to 2017, he didn’t just observe the growth of the community’s charitable sector—he shaped it. His fingerprints are on the foundations of countless organizations, his influence woven into the mission statements and budgets of essential programs.
But for all his experience, for all the grants awarded and partnerships forged, Paul Didier never expected to need the services of the very nonprofits he helped build.
Following the passing of his beloved wife, Bobbi, Paul, was left devastated. Life as Paul knew it, was over.
He knew the call he had to make, to his friend David Selberg, CEO of Hospice of Santa Barbara. David listened and put him in touch with Hospice of Santa Barbara’s Intake Coordinator. Soon after, Paul began grief counseling. Little did he know that he would remain in counseling for two years.
That healing journey, unexpected and deeply personal, forever changed the way Paul viewed legacy. Hospice of Santa Barbara was no longer just a worthy cause—it was a lifeline. It became one of five nonprofits he quietly added to his estate plans.
Hospice of Santa Barbara is honored to include Paul Didier among its Legacy Society members. But more than that, we are honored to have walked beside him during the most difficult chapter of his life—a chapter that turned, eventually, toward hope.
If you ever have the chance to sit down with Paul, take it. Ask him about the 50 or so nonprofits he helped found and fund, or the early days of United Way when Santa Barbara was just beginning to understand what community infrastructure could really mean.
