Barbara Kreibich; O.C. Journalist Started Young

Barbara Kreibich, whose half-century in journalism ranged from being a European bureau chief for Life magazine to working for community newspapers in Orange County, has died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 81.

Kreibich was born in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 30, 1919. She began writing for her father’s newspaper when she was 12. After the family moved to California, she worked as a 14-year-old Hollywood correspondent for an Australian weekly.

Hired by Life as a map researcher, Kreibich eventually was sent to Paris to cover the rebuilding of Europe after World War II. She met her future husband, George, while on assignment in Prague. She later served as Life’s bureau chief in Paris and Rome.

In 1952, the couple returned to California. They owned a chicken ranch in Lancaster for two years, then moved to Costa Mesa.

“She gave up her career to start a family,” said her son, Paul Kreibich. “She had made her mark and was happy to let it go.”

Kreibich went back to journalism in Orange County. She wrote for the Laguna News-Post and was editorial page editor of the Costa Mesa Daily Pilot. She retired in 1982.

Kreibich, who died May 7, is survived by her two children and four grandchildren.