Barbara Janice Burnside

Dr. Barbara Burnside 1946–2026

In 2023 Barbara Burnside drove her beloved electric car ‘Evie’ 3000 miles from the Sidney, British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada, to join her life partner, Paul Gartside, in Springs, East Hampton, New York. She died in the early hours of January 6, 2026, at the Kanas Center East End Hospice in Westhampton Beach. In the short time that she lived in our community she worked hard to find her people and the causes she believed in. She was instrumental in organizing the “Hands Off” and “No Kings” protests this year on Pantigo Road. She worked on several environmental projects including the pollinator garden at Town Hall, and she found her creative community among the knitters of Sag Harbor.

Barb was born to Margaret (née Lorenz) and Walter Ronald Burnside in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia, in November 1946. The family moved to Margaret’s home state of California by ship, from Sydney to San Francisco, in 1951. Barb spent her childhood in Costa Mesa and Aptos and graduated from Watsonville High School. She attended Cabrillo and Boston Colleges. She married Eric Schandall of East Hampton, Connecticut, in Aptos in 1966. They emigrated with their first child to the Atlantic fishing village of Charlos Cove, in Nova Scotia, Canada. After the birth of two boys there, and a brief return to California, they settled in 1974 in Victoria, BC. Barbara completed a PhD in neuropsychology at the University of Victoria while raising her three children. In 1989, Barb married Paul Gartside of Cornwall, England. She spent many happy summers exploring BC, the Yukon and Alaska in small boats with Paul and friends. She sailed open water between Tonga and New Zealand, and Argentina and the Falklands. Barbara was engaged with creative projects and communities everywhere she lived: drawing, painting, dancing, singing, sewing, knitting, gardening, birding—always with dedication, curiosity and skill. She worked as a psychologist and psychotherapist in Victoria until her retirement in 2019. Her work as a psychologist and her life in retirement were informed by a powerful sense of social justice, compassion, and ethical care for people. She listened deeply and acted with heart.

Barbara is survived by her three children, Rami Schandall (Geoffrey), Torbjorn Schandall (Jenny) and Peder Schandall (Jihye); grandsons Brynn Schandall-O’Donoghue and Milan Schandall; and her life partner Paul Gartside. Barbara is predeceased by her parents and beloved sister Heather, and is survived by siblings Sue, Scott and Cory. She is profoundly missed by her nieces and nephews (Kristen, Bjarni, Leila, Lani, Emily, Chris D and Chris M), and dear friends and family all over the world.

Special thanks to Dr. Margarita Yarovikova and her team at the Phillips Family Cancer Center in Southampton who for four months have been as close as family, and to all at the Kanas Center East End Hospice in Westhampton Beach. Theirs is the noblest work. Thanks most of all to Paul Gartside for his steadfast, loving and generous care for Barbara throughout her illness, this most challenging journey in an adventure-filled life together.

A gathering and potluck to celebrate Barb’s life will take place at Hoie Hall, St. Luke’s Parish Hall, in East Hampton on January 17, 2026 at 1pm.

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