Spiritus-Benz was Hermosa Beach’s pacifying spirit

by Kevin Cody

At Critters bar, in 1990, Patricia Spiritus introduced herself to Hermosa Beach City Council candidate Robert “Burgie” Benz, who was making a second attempt at elected office after losing a council race two years earlier. After he assured her, despite his boisterous reputation, he didn’t use hard drugs, she offered to become his campaign manager. Spiritus had a background in finance and marketing with Mattel, and quickly brought order to the campaign, leading to her husband serving two terms on the Hermosa Council. 

A few years later, after the couple married, She brought something resembling order and even respectability to the Hermosa Beach Ironman, an event that had no organization, but which her husband was rumored to be involved in. The competition, involving running, paddling, and chugging a six pack, has been woven into the community fabric, in large part through its distribution of proceeds to local charities, which Spiritus-Benz instituted.

Spiritus-Benz passed away Sunday, October 5, at age 70, after a decade-long battle with pancreatic cancer. 

“Patricia was a mystical presence who would bring calm to chaos, a presence to which everyone would gravitate. Life with her was a constant display of kindness, warmth and the true meaning of bonhomie,” her husband said this week.

Spiritus-Benz was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 19, 1954, and grew up in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, until age 16, when she moved to Newport Beach. She graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in finance and began a career in product development and marketing at Mattel. She later launched her own toy marketing company. 

In 1993, she opened Hamilton Gregg Brewworks, the first alcohol-serving business to open in Hermosa in over 20 years,s and the first do-it-yourself craft brewery in the nation. 

She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016, and fought relentlessly to see her daughter, Shelby, graduate from high school, college, and graduate school, and begin her career in public service.

“Mom was a giver in every sense of the word—building her communities, helping her neighbors, and loving her family with every fiber of her being,” her daughter said this week.

“She opened her home to those experiencing homelessness, addiction, and other trauma; cared for children by providing food, shelter, and a listening ear; and rescued hundreds of animals,” her daughter said. ER