Sandra Curtis Gustafson

Sandra Curtis Abernethy Gustafson, 81, world traveler, noted author of 34 guide books to Europe and Hawaii and long-time San Diego resident, died peacefully after a short illness February 1, 2020, surrounded by family and friends. She was born in Pasadena, November 21, 1938, the only child of Superior Court Judge Ronald Abernethy and his wife Neva, founder of the Children’s Hospital Thrift Shop. The Abernethys moved to San Diego in the early 1940s, settling in Point Loma. Sandra attended Francis Parker Elementary School and The Bishop’s School, graduating in 1956. She received her B.A. and teaching credential from the University of Colorado. In 1960 she married Reid Gustafson, whose ancestors developed the canning of tuna and founded San Diego’s Westgate Sun Harbor Packing, featuring Breast O Chicken tuna. While Reid finished a degree at UC Davis, Sandra began her teaching career at a one room school in Winters, CA outside Sacramento. Returning to San Diego, she taught at Silver Gate Elementary School. She was a member of the Junior League, ZLAC Rowing Club, 1974 President of the Bishops Alumni Association and a volunteer at the San Diego Museum of Art and the House of Scotland. In the early 1970s she helped to organize ice cream socials for returning Vietnam vets. After her marriage to Reid ended, Sandra and a friend founded the Refugee Sponsor Information Bureau after a visit to Camp Pendleton where many Vietnamese families were housed after the fall of Saigon in 1975, in order to find sponsors for many of them. The last family in the camp refused to leave unless all thirteen members could stay together. Sandra agreed to be their sponsor, helping to find them lodging, furnishings and to adjust to their new life. Always grateful, several of them were with their Miss Sandra when she passed away.

When the same friend who helped her found the R.S.I.B moved to Paris with her family, Sandra joined them for a short visit and ended up staying in Paris for two years after she found a job at the American College of Paris. Her concern with refugees brought her into contact with a group in Paris called the Comité des Quinze [Committee of 15] trying to help Russian Refuseniks—mostly Russian Jews refused permission to leave as they possessed state secrets. Sandra and another Comité member, traveled to Moscow and Leningrad bringing letters, Hebrew Bibles and support to some of the Refuseniks. Shortly before leaving Russia, Sandra and her companion joined observers outside the trial of Anatoly Sharansky, the Refuseniks’ spokesperson, where they were noticed by the KGB. When they arrived at the Moscow airport to return to Paris, they were detained and searched by the police. “They even examined my toothpaste!” Sandra later related. Finally released, they were put on their plane, accompanied by a policewoman and escorted out of the USSR. Safely back in Paris, the head of the Comité des Quinze asked Sandra to contact someone in the US Embassy on what to do if this happened to another Comité member. The embassy contact was WillIam Poole, who became Sandra’s second husband.

Sandra and Bill spent a lot of time in Paris seeking out restaurants for reasonably priced, great meals and were constantly asked for their recommendations, which were then passed around the embassy. After a foreign service officer suggested publishing them, Sandra contacted her former boss, Liz Johnson, a retired NYC publishing executive, living in San Diego, who helped them self-publish their first book “Love-A-Fare in Paris; Les Cheap Eats Guide to Inexpensive Dining.” Ms. Johnson sent the book out to be reviewed by such newspaper columnists as Neil Morgan and Judith Morgan. The book took off, going through several printings in 1982, 1984 and 1985 and 1988, changing the name to “Cheap Eats in Paris,” with Sandra later as sole author. Meanwhile, the couple were sent to Prague and then Singapore, before divorcing. In 1990 the book was published by Chronicle Books, accompanied by “Cheap Sleeps in Paris.” Cheap Eats and Cheap Sleeps, retitled Great Eats and Great Sleeps in 2002, for London, Italy, Spain, Prague, Vienna and Budapest as well as Hawaii followed, totaling 30 editions, with over 350,000 copies sold. In all Sandra published 34 books. Her guides were mentioned by many travel writers, USA Today, New York Magazine and on CNN radio as one of the best because Sandra visited every establishment before they were included and revisited them when she did the next edition to make certain they were maintaining her rigid standards. Samantha Durell, owner of Venice Travel Advisory Service, whom Sandra met doing research in that city, wrote that “she was a unique woman with a professionalism that was extraordinary in her field. She had to see for herself each place she wrote about in her books and moved beds away from the wall to check for dirt and dust. Impeccable integrity and astute professionalism.” Sandra would drop about 1/3 of the entries from her last edition and add 1/3 new ones. Each pair of Great Eats and Great Sleeps took 3-6 months of 11-12 hour days, constantly on the go. Still, Sandra thought she had the best job in the world: living in great cities, visiting wonderful hotels and restaurants and helping people offering outstanding services; often told that being mentioned in her books kept them afloat during hard times. A nun at a hotel run by a religious order, which Sandra labeled “Holy Hotels,” told her that the nuns lit a candle for her every day because being mentioned in her book had been so beneficial to them. The series ended with the 2007 edition of Great Eats and Great Sleeps Paris--all still available on Amazon.

When her series ended Sandra volunteered for the Children’s Museum and taught classes on health maintenance for various San Diego health institutes. Sandra’s parents predeceased her and she had no children. She is survived by the children of her cousin Bonnie Goodbody—Debby Obolensky, Sue Gasca, Marti Herbert, Teresa Goodbody, Richard Goodbody, John Goodbody, Elizabeth Dobins, Christina Norita, many devoted friends and her beloved rescue dog Sophie. Sandra requested “a memorial service and a big party afterwards to celebrate my being lucky enough to know everyone who attends.” Per her request a private memorial and celebration of life will be held. In lieu of flowers, a donation to Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe is suggested.