Delsa Ham
Delsa Ham passed away peacefully in her Tiburon home surrounded by family on February 28th 2024, a few days shy of her 77th birthday.
Born in Oakland on March 4th, 1947, to Alvin and Marian Pauletich, Delsa attended Skyline High School before graduating from Chico State University. After traveling the world as a young adult, she settled at the The Cove apartments in Tiburon in 1970, where she met her husband, Rob Ham. A meet-cute for the ages, as she was moving into the apartment he was moving out of, she invited him to a party and their love story began. Rob and Delsa were married for 35 years until Rob Ham’s passing in 2010.
A woman of many talents, Delsa led a vibrant life in the Marin County community. She was often recognized driving about town in her red Mercedes convertible, sporting her signature DELSA license plate. Many may have known and frequented her antique store, Sugarloaf Antiques, located in San Anselmo during the 1980’s. Here her passion for travel and antiques collided, as she and Rob would make frequent buying trips to France and England, sourcing the finest art, furniture and decor for import and sale at her shop. She also cherished her time as a publisher and co-founder of IN MARIN magazine, which ran monthly from the late 1980s through the early 1990s. Highlighting Marin’s extraordinary people and places, the publication would eventually become a predecessor to what we now know as Marin Magazine.
With a passion for entertaining, she hosted many gatherings at her exquisitely curated homes. Known for her sharp wit and one-liners, Delsa was a force at any dinner party. Her warmth and generosity were often shown through her thoughtful gifts and handwritten notes to family and friends. In her free time, you could find Delsa enjoying a pleasure cruise on the bay with Rob on their picnic yacht, relaxing at Stinson Beach for family weekends, needlepointing on the sunny docks of Lake Tahoe’s Stillwater cove, or sipping a hot chocolate at Café de Flore near her cherished Paris apartment. During the last decade, Delsa found immense joy in spending time with her four beautiful grandchildren, who are going to miss her dearly.
Delsa is preceded in passing by her husband, Rob, and her brother, Dennis. She is survived by her two sons, Tyler and Trevor, their families, and four grandchildren, as well as her two nieces, Kelsey and Courtney.
Truly one of a kind, Delsa is remembered most by her authenticity, devotion to family and overall zest for life. She will be loved by her family for generations and missed by all who knew her.