Hard to believe that Marion is dying. 87 years old. Hard to believe she is 87. If I did not think about her age I would of thought she was about 55. How the mind can decieve.
Go swfitly dear friend. No more pain.
I will look for you on the sunrise at the beach here in Mexico.
love,
Billy
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Marion Cunningham Editor of Fannie Farmer Cookbooks, Food Writer, dying in San Francisco Bay Area
Dreams of Marion. Dying, living , all of it.
One of my memories of Marion.
In the 1970's. Michael James and I were catering a party for Frances Dinkelspeil Green, great grandaughter of Isaias W. Hellman, the founder of the Wells Fargo Bank and also heirss of Hellmans mayonaise which became Best Foods. For about 10 years, fromm 1973 until about 1983 we did approximately 5 dinner parties a year for Mrs. Green plus a huge fourth of July party every year. Marion always worked with us on the July 4th party. The guest list ranged from 150-300 people every year. Given at their house in Atherton, outside of San Francisco. Marion, Michael and Akiko Matsuo always did the desserts. and they were wonderful. I especially remember Marion's bread pudding made with crusty baggette. Wow.
Somewhere along the way, we did the Green's youngest daughters wedding , Florence Green Marchick, 7 layers of weeking cake each with it's own seat for the plane ride from LA to SFO. They were too fragile to put in the baggage area of the plane. Quite a cake. Done in that wonderful style of Gaston Lenotre.(Richard worked for Gaston Lenotre, as had Michael James) Pulled sugar decorations, 7 layers of cake presented on huge slabs of nougatine and pillars of nougatine and fondant. Also, he brough along more tan 3,000 sweet amuseguele, petitfours, tiny chocolate and coffee eclairs, etc, etc.
Marion helped us alot with this party. Their was a staff of over a hundred people.
But guess what. No dishwashers. How is it possible? Where are the dishwashers. Drunk. Not to be seen. Was it possible they were never hired? Well, she asked for 20 waiters to volunteer, strip down to their shorts, she put on a bathing suit and in they went in the pool and washed all of the dishes in the pool. Must of cost a mint to repair the filtering system in the pool. But it worked. We laughed for days; until we were literally sick. The person that laughed the most was Marion. She was a trooper. A great person. A great friend.
One of my memories of Marion.
In the 1970's. Michael James and I were catering a party for Frances Dinkelspeil Green, great grandaughter of Isaias W. Hellman, the founder of the Wells Fargo Bank and also heirss of Hellmans mayonaise which became Best Foods. For about 10 years, fromm 1973 until about 1983 we did approximately 5 dinner parties a year for Mrs. Green plus a huge fourth of July party every year. Marion always worked with us on the July 4th party. The guest list ranged from 150-300 people every year. Given at their house in Atherton, outside of San Francisco. Marion, Michael and Akiko Matsuo always did the desserts. and they were wonderful. I especially remember Marion's bread pudding made with crusty baggette. Wow.
Somewhere along the way, we did the Green's youngest daughters wedding , Florence Green Marchick, 7 layers of weeking cake each with it's own seat for the plane ride from LA to SFO. They were too fragile to put in the baggage area of the plane. Quite a cake. Done in that wonderful style of Gaston Lenotre.(Richard worked for Gaston Lenotre, as had Michael James) Pulled sugar decorations, 7 layers of cake presented on huge slabs of nougatine and pillars of nougatine and fondant. Also, he brough along more tan 3,000 sweet amuseguele, petitfours, tiny chocolate and coffee eclairs, etc, etc.
Marion helped us alot with this party. Their was a staff of over a hundred people.
But guess what. No dishwashers. How is it possible? Where are the dishwashers. Drunk. Not to be seen. Was it possible they were never hired? Well, she asked for 20 waiters to volunteer, strip down to their shorts, she put on a bathing suit and in they went in the pool and washed all of the dishes in the pool. Must of cost a mint to repair the filtering system in the pool. But it worked. We laughed for days; until we were literally sick. The person that laughed the most was Marion. She was a trooper. A great person. A great friend.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Reported by a friend that Marion Cunnningham, editor of the Fannie Farmer Cookbooks and her own personal books is dying in a nursing home in Bay Area
It is with great sadness that a friend called me here in Villa del Angel , my house on the beach north of Acapulco on the road to Ixtapa on the Pacific coast of Mexic to tell me that Marion Cunningham, my great friend of 27 years is dying in a nursing home in the Bay Area of California. She is 87 years old. I think she was born on February 7, 1922 in Los Angeles. She has been in a nursing home or an assisted living enviornment for the past few years. Isolated from her friends and the public. Her family took her away from the world "for her betterment". Few of us agree in this logic. She is reported to be a Hospice Patient and expected to live only a short time.
We have been through everything together. The great, good times and the really horrible awful times. But our friendship survived. I would say that our friendship will survive her death. She meant everything to me. As she did to many, many people. The public Marion Cunningham was the same person you saw as a friend. She had a quality that very few people have. She was very interested in YOU. I use the past tense not because she has died; but because she went away. Into the world of Alzheimers and dementia. Lost about five years ago. Her family not allowing anyone to see her nor talk to her. The worst thing that can happen to a person who is fading away. But we all retreated. Including me. We all gave up. Except for maybe one friend of hers that will go un-named. The one that stayed behind with her.
We have been through everything together. The great, good times and the really horrible awful times. But our friendship survived. I would say that our friendship will survive her death. She meant everything to me. As she did to many, many people. The public Marion Cunningham was the same person you saw as a friend. She had a quality that very few people have. She was very interested in YOU. I use the past tense not because she has died; but because she went away. Into the world of Alzheimers and dementia. Lost about five years ago. Her family not allowing anyone to see her nor talk to her. The worst thing that can happen to a person who is fading away. But we all retreated. Including me. We all gave up. Except for maybe one friend of hers that will go un-named. The one that stayed behind with her.
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