Etta Colish Bryant Richanbach MD

August 9, 1930 - March 2, 2022

Etta Colish Bryant Richanbach, MD, of San Mateo, California, passed away peacefully on March 2nd, 2022 at the age of 91. Etta was born on August 9th, 1930 in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Nathan and Freida Colish. She studied cello early and from that study developed a great love of the Performing Arts. She received her BA from Rice University in 1951 and her MD from the University of Texas at Galveston, both of which she attended with her first husband, C. Martel Bryant. She later earned a Master’s of Public Health from Harvard and completed her residency in Pediatrics. Somehow, she also had 5 children during her training. After years of public health Pediatrics, she completed a second residency in Psychiatry and subspecialty in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco. She practiced Psychiatry in San Mateo until her retirement at age 83, helping scores of children and their families work their way through mental illness and back to healthy, meaningful lives and relationships. She was an active participant in the Northern California Regional Organization of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, tirelessly working on legislation to better the lives of children. In 1982, she married Henry (Hank) Richanbach. They shared a life full of love, adventure and family until his death in 2003. She is survived by four children, David Bryant, Jan Bryant, Charyl LeBlanc and Laura Bryant Gutierrez, and their spouses Dan Speaker, Bill LeBlanc and Max Gutierrez. She is also survived by her grandchildren Dane, Ryan, Jessica, John, Ariela, Shalia, Tess and Maxito, as well as her great grandchildren Jackson and Estelle. She was preceded in death by her son Eric Bryant, in 1962. She is survived by her sister Annette Colish Samuels and her brother Ron Colish. Etta was passionate about providing help and support to all who knew her. She loved music, theater, her garden, travel and the ocean. Most of all she loved her family. We will miss her unwavering faith that all people are innately good. Her unquenchable sense of empathy provided inspiration and faith in kindness and compassion to us all. Services will be held at Skylawn Cemetery on Friday, March 4th, 2022. Donations in her honor may be made to the Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco, Peninsula and the East Bay.