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.