In Memorium – Carmen Tapia

UCEAP is sad to note the passing of our colleague, Carmen Tapia, on September 7, 2016 at the age of 91. Carmen was a staff member at the Systemwide Office from 1989 – 2007, and held various roles in that time. She worked in the Universitywide Relations Unit, where she supported the Senate Review Committee and Faculty Exchangs. She was later in the Reciprocal Exchanges Unit, where she supported Faculty Exchange within the Faculty & Graduate Programs function. Prior to UCEAP, Carmen spent 27 years as a linguistic and personal assistant to Professor Raimundo Pannikar at Harvard and then UCSB in the Religious Studies Department. In her writing and her work she focused on her passion for human rights and dignity for all people.

Carmen was born in Spain in 1925 and educated in both Spain and Venezuela. She spoke Spanish, French, Italian, and English. Carmen joined the religious order Opus Dei in 1948, and took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She lived in Spain, Italy, and Venezuela while in the organization. After she left the group she wrote of her experience in a book titled Beyond the Threshold: a Life in Opus Dei, which has been translated into several languages. She is survived by her two younger brothers and their families, all of whom live in Spain. Carmen was laid to rest in the cemetery of Miraflores de La Sierra, Spain in the burial plot of her family.