to lriley@benefitexperts.com

Hi Lanea,

 I don't know if this will reach you, it may not be a current address. This is Alex, Lea's mom.

I'm sorry we haven't kept in contact but you always have held a special place in my heart.

A few days ago I was  in Oliver's, I had my own worries on my mind and my head down. I noticed twice a beautiful and very well behaved standard poodle but I didn't look up. Once I was comfortably on line I was thinking that I hadn't seen such a nice dog since I saw your parent's outside of Peet's coffee once (probably years now but I have no sense of time). Then I quickly looked and of course it was your dad, Alfredo. I hoped to catch up to him when we had both got through the line but couldn't.

Then of course I thought "where's Mary-Anne?"  - with a sense of foreboding I looked up your mom's FB page and then got the sad news of her passing.

I am so sorry that she had to go through all that pain and I understand her wanting to be done with it. Please know how much all that knew her will miss her and she touched so many souls here on earth. I thank God for having met her. 

Please take care of yourself and if you ever want to reach me I'm in the same place. My cell is 707 291-5336

love to your dad and your sis

Alex

It all began with laughter…
Mary and I were in high-school together, our friendship deepened during very formative late-60s hippy years at DVC. She studied art as we worked, we marched, we played, and we partied with our sister crazy-ladies. There was art. We sold our wares at the first Martinez Art-in-the-Park in 1969. It became quite clear that she had honest-to-god talent. There was music. We went to Filmore a lot … I mean A LOT! We loved Janis and Grace. We saw Carlos Santana at the Concord Armory. We listened to Rolling Stones, Beatles, Beautiful Day, CSNY, Cheap Thrills …  There was fun with food … We were so pleased when we learned to make Chilaquiles. We had Bakers Tacos every day while she recovered from that nasty car accident on Highway 1. We had Top Dog in Berkeley, apple pie at Dave’s on Broadway …

One of the best vacations EVER has to be 2 weeks in Mexico with Mary Anne, Alfredo, Dianne, bf Jim, and Mary’s cousin Ed; exploring Playa del Carmen, Xel Ha, Sian Ka’an, X’caret, Gran Cenote, Tulum, Merida ... simply magical. We climbed Chichen Itza, I have a tiny little fear of heights… when I returned safely to the bottom, Mary was right there to catch me in a huge hug and an atta girl.

Mary attracted interesting people.If you were caught-up and welcomed into in her orbit you were gonna have a blast. You were also gonna get called on your BS.Mary didn’t tolerate intolerance, she had a firm moral compass and would speak up against injustice, intolerance, prejudice, and crap no matter the setting.

When she met Alfredo it was clear that they were destined to be together in the most fundamental and profound way.It’s hard not to resort to cliché: love for the ages, meant to be, soul-mates … all these things and more describe them. They proved true love and partnership during their remarkable 50++ years together.

My heart goes out to Alfredo, Sabrina, Lanea, Reegan and all of us who soldier on in a world with one less sparkling light.

…catch you on the flip-side my dear friend…

I only knew MaryAnne through our N.Cal Kit group. Such a nice lady, wish I had known her better. Just a reminder to meet and visit otherswhen you can.
My deepest sympathy to MaryAnne’s Family. .

Mom had just thrown us kids off the swing for a turn with Annmarie : ) jk. Mom is just swinging to her hearts content!!!

Mom bought this VW Bug in 1971. This car travelled as far as Oaxaca, MX, both Lanea and Sabrina learned how to drive in this car, and it stayed in the family until 2000

My parents sent this picture to me in the past few years and I don't ever remember seeing it before. What a beautiful and happy couple!  So in love and enjoying the night. Just makes me melt to see those smiles :)

Mom was so happy to see Yosemite here.  As for Damon, he has second thoughts about how intense that waterfall is right behind them.

I love this photo so so so so much.  What is even better than that smile is that mom is this happy in a selfie. Just makes my heart melt : )

Mom was worried about not loving her new dog as much as her old one, Damon.  When she met Bodhi, her new poodle, she was overwhelmed by how much she instantly bonded and loved this new creature in her life. He definitely loves mom and still comes to her bedside looking for a pet or treat : ) He is such a cotton ball of love! Just what mom deserves.