Kalani Engles
Aug. 25, 1938-July 14, 2026
Portola Valley, California
Submitted by Jack Jensen

Kalani Engles, beloved wife, mother, Nana, artist, friend, and longtime resident of Portola Valley, California, passed away peacefully on July 14, 2026, at age 87, surrounded by her husband and children. The cause of death was a rare, debilitating autoimmune disease of the lungs that appeared in February. Kalani fought the disease courageously for five months and was on the road to recovery. But in early July it flared up aggressively, and she was unable to overcome it this time. Kalani was an acclaimed artist whose professional career spanned 45 years. Her work was featured in over 120 exhibitions including 24 solo exhibitions and nine museum shows. Over the years she was represented by 15 galleries in the Bay Area, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Denver. Her current gallery in Burlingame has represented her for 22 years. Kalani studied under Nathan Oliveira and Frank Lobdell in the Stanford University Art Department in the early 1980s. She established her first studio at the old Portola Valley Town Center in 1982 and her second studio in Redwood City in 2006. Kalani was a painter and printmaker specializing in monotypes. She worked on canvas and paper in a wide range of sizes – some canvases were 6’ x 7’. She was a master of color and composition, which she expressed in bold abstracts and representational landscapes. Her primary inspiration was nature, especially the woodlands and meadows she observed on her weekly walks on the high trails of Portola Valley with her friends. She saw things that elude the casual observer like the angle of a thorn, the alignment of tree trunks in a stand, or the veins of a leaf. And she saw color – not just the obvious greens and golds and browns, but blue and red and purple hues revealed by the interplay of diffused light and shadow. She highlighted these aspects in her paintings, surprising viewers and challenging them to look more carefully, so that they could appreciate more of what nature has to offer. Kalani Pearl Torbert was born in San Francisco on August 25, 1938, the first child of Edwin and Vivian Torbert. Her father was a piano teacher who instilled in his children an appreciation for the arts by regularly taking them to the many cultural institutions and events in the city. He also took the family on frequent road trips to state and national parks where she loved to see wild animals and learned to appreciate nature. When Kalani was 14, the family moved to Redwood City, CA, and she enrolled in Sequoia High School where she starred in musical theater productions. After her graduation in 1956, she attended College of San Mateo and earned an AA degree. In 1958 Kalani married an heir to an Alaskan mining fortune and had five children with him. They moved to Portola Valley in 1967 into a magnificent all-redwood home that Kalani designed and built. Kalani devoted this stage of her life to her children, whom she loved deeply. She made them believe they could do anything. She taught them to dream big, to be fearless, and to see possibilities where other people saw obstacles. She supported them and advocated for them in everything they did. As adults they still looked to her for encouragement and guidance because of her amazing gift for making people believe in themselves. Kalani made even ordinary occasions feel magical—holidays, family dinners, birthdays, and casual gatherings—and transformed them into lasting memories. She had a gift for making people feel that they mattered and were cared for. Her home was open to all, especially her children’s many friends, some of whom considered her a second mother. Her warmth, grace, and vibrant spirit touched everyone who knew her and made her a beloved and much-admired member of the community. In 1976 Kalani met Charles Engles, who became her husband and soulmate. They were together for 50 years. Charles was a mathematician and engineer and Kalani was creative and gregarious – an unlikely pairing. But their contrasting qualities complemented each other, and over the years they became completely interdependent. Charles liked to say that between the two of them they had one brain. They grew to love each other deeply. Charles strongly supported Kalani in her art career and handled all the administrative details. He also managed the details of their personal life. Kalani organized their social and cultural life, planned their many journeys to exotic parts of the world, and decorated their homes brilliantly. She taught Charles about art and how to be more poised and polished, and he helped her become physically fit with regular hikes and Pilates classes for 25 years. Before she became ill this year, she possessed the strength and vitality of someone many years younger.

Kalani was the oldest and last surviving member of her family of origin. She was predeceased by her parents, Edwin and Vivian Torbert; her sister Camile Macomber; her sister Margot Torbert, a ballet teacher; and her brother David Torbert, a bassist with The New Riders of the Purple Sage. All of them died of heart disease. Tragically, Kalani also lost her two oldest children, Sean Smith and Patrick Smith, to heart attacks when they were adults. Kalani herself survived a heart attack, cancer and two episodes of sepsis, all of which were life threatening. Yet she somehow summoned the physical and emotional strength to recover from these blows and live a healthy, productive life. That was until this year, when she was struck by an autoimmune disease that proved too much for her to overcome. Kalani leaves behind a large family: her husband, Charles, of Portola Valley; a daughter, Laura Hewett (Mack), and a son, Tom Smith (Michelle), both of Ocean Isle Beach, NC; and a son, Tim Smith (Marilynn), of San Carlos. She has nine grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way. She also leaves behind many dear friends whose lives she touched with her empathy, warmth and irrepressible spirit. They lovingly describe her as “magical”, “a shining star”, “magnificent”, “a bright light”, “an inspiration”, “a ray of light”, “a force of nature”, “generous of spirit”, “strong”, and “kind.” She had a remarkable ability to make everyone feel seen, important, loved, and capable of more than they believed possible. She didn’t just create beautiful paintings—she created beautiful memories and touched lives in a way that people never forgot. She was indeed magical. Kalani’s extraordinary body of work, held in museums, galleries, and private collections, is an enduring legacy that will live on long after us. Her art embodies her spirit, boldness, creativity, sensitivity, mastery of color and composition, and transcendent vision. Through it, future generations will be able to see the world as she did and realize what an extraordinary person she was. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 3, at 2:00 PM at The Family Farm, 1400 Portola Road, Woodside, CA. A reception will follow the service. Memorials may be sent to The Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA.