Loss came early in Huguette's life.
When she was 13, her sister Andree, four years older, died of meningitis.
In 1925, her father died.
In 1928, she married. Two years later, she was divorced.
Little by little, she disappeared from the world. She painted. She collected dolls.
In her later years, she would summon an antiques dealer to her apartment, then bargain with him only through a closed door.
Was she cold? Difficult?
The people who knew her said the opposite.
Barbara Hoelscher Doran grew up on the Santa Barbara estate, where her father supervised the staff. When she visited the main house as a child, she wore surgical-style slippers so she wouldn't mark the parquet floors.
Huguette invited her to tea and gave her children's books in French.
"She was a wonderful, kind, giving lady."
— Barbara Hoelscher Doran
Huguette loved giving gifts. Her lawyer said the reason was simple. She wanted to see people receive them.