Kathleen (Potharst O'Leary) Dart

Kathleen Potharst was born in Seattle, Washington on July 24th of 1906 to Arie Potharst and Kathleen Bennett.[1]  A sister, Dorothy, followed in 1908.[2] Only a couple of months after her sister was born, Kathleen was orphaned when her father shot and killed her mother and baby sister before ending his own life.[3]  He had also attempted to kill Kathleen, who was only two years old at the time, though she miraculously survived with non-fatal wounds to her cheek.[4]

Kathleen was taken in by her maternal aunt, Ellen O’Leary, and Ellen’s husband, James.[5]  The O’Leary’s had been in Seattle for some time, with James working as a logger for many years.[6]  Within a few years of living with her aunt and uncle, Kathleen informally became the O’Leary’s daughter and began using their last name.[7]

By 1923, the O’Learys had relocated to Santa Maria[8] after a brief period of time in the San Jose area of California.[9]  Their move came part-way through Kathleen’s senior year of high school, though she quickly acclimated and became active in her new school’s community by joining tennis club, glee club, the school newspaper, and participating in school theatre.[10]

After graduation in 1924,[11] Kathleen attended the local junior college before enrolling in business school in Santa Barbara.[12] She returned to Santa Maria in 1925,[13] and in 1927 was married to Allan Dart.[14]

Allan had been born and raised in Santa Maria,[15] and he presumably first met Kathleen in high school. They were both members of the same graduating class and participated in many of the same clubs, including the newspaper staff and school theatre productions.[10] The couple remained in the same social circles after graduation, even during Kathleen’s brief move to Santa Barbara.[16]  Though, while Kathleen was away at school, Allan was beginning his career[17] and within a few years had relocated to Richmond in the Bay Area of California for his job as an oil worker.[18]

After their marriage, Kathleen moved to Richmond to join her new husband.[14] Their time in Richmond seems to have been pleasant, with the couple remaining active in their new circle of friends[19] and even hosting several social events at their home.[20] They also began to grow their family while in Richmond; a daughter was born in June of 1932.[21]

The Darts relocated back to Santa Maria in 1933[22] just a few months after Kathleen’s uncle, James, passed away.[23] They moved into the O’Leary home along with Kathleen’s aunt,[22] who had previously been living in the Los Angeles area while James had been ill.[23] The property, which had been acquired and built on by the O’Learys in 1923, was a large 80 acre ranch[24] that James had been running until shortly before his death.[23] Several months after their move back to the ranch, their second daughter, Carole, was born.[25]  

Kathleen was legally adopted by her aunt, Ellen, in 1935. As Ellen was in her seventies at this time, it appears as though she wanted to ensure that Kathleen would inherit her estate, which would have included the home and extensive property that they were currently living in.[26]

The Dart family, including Ellen, moved away again in October of 1936 when Allan pursued a work opportunity in the Los Angeles area.[27] They remained there for several years with Allan working as a purchasing agent for a manufacturing company.[28] Their family grew once more during this time; a son was born in 1937.[29]

In September of 1941, the family moved back once again to the O’Leary home in Santa Maria.[30] Ellen passed away the following year in 1942, leaving the property to Kathleen.  Allan took over running the property specifically as a dairy farm, and he also became quite active in the larger farming community.[31]

During her time in Santa Maria, Kathleen was steadily involved in the community.  The extra time she had was filled with social groups such as the Minerva Club,[32] of which she became a lifetime member, and she became active in her Catholic faith with her involvement in the Catholic Auxiliary[33] as well as Catholic Daughters of America.[34]  She was also involved in actively fundraising for the Red Cross during World War II.[35]  Her children were also a priority, and she became involved in their educations by participating in the Mother’s Club[36] as well as actively encouraging and promoting the children’s hobbies and interests.[37]  

Allen died suddenly of a heart attack in 1955.[15] After his death, Kathleen sold the ranch property as she was no longer in need of such a large home with her children grown.[24]  She spent the following year traveling with visits to Hawaii[38] and Europe,[39] though by 1960 she had settled down in Southern California.[40] She remained in the Long Beach area for a time before moving back to the Central Coast where she spent her final years in Morro Bay.  

Kathleen passed away in 1982 at the age of 75 of natural causes.[41]  

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