Obituary of Mary Ann Lindenbaum

Mary Ann Lindenbaum was born Mary Ann Alfieri, in Los Angeles, California on August 3rd, 1920, She was the youngest of four children and the only daughter born to a family of Italian immigrants who had settled in California in the first decade of the 20th Century. She grew up in Boyle Heights, a culturally diverse working class neighborhood, surrounded by a tight-knit ex-tended family that all lived within walking distance. Having lost her mother at an early age, Mary was raised primarily by her grandmother who shared with her the art of Italian cooking and the joys of nurturing and feeding family and friends with warmth and generosity. Blessed all her life with a gracious, generous nature, a sunny disposition, and a ready laugh, Mary always enjoyed meeting people and making new friends. She became a skilled seamstress, and could often be found creating lovely stylish dresses for friends and cousins. Dressing was always important to her, and throughout the Depression, despite having very few financial resources, she made the most of her ingenuity and talent to always appear beautiful, smart and well dressed. Mary also enjoyed reading, going to the movies and joining her friends and family for summer excursions to the many nearby beaches. Mary came of age in the 1940's, at the same time that the United States was entering World War II. Like thousands of other young women at the time, she joined the war effort and found em-ployment building aircraft at Lockheed Industries. It was here she met Harry Lindenbaum, a good-looking young man with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes who was destined to change her life. This handsome young pilot courted Mary with sweet enthusiasm and in 1943 she became his loving wife. In 1946, their daughter Bette Jeanne was born, followed in 1952 by their son, Richard. Mary loved her children deeply and demonstrably. She was a thoughtful, generous mother who cared for and supported them in their endeavors all her life. True to her Italian roots, her amazing skills in the kitchen became legendary, and a meal at her home was always antici-pated with delight. She passed on the love of cooking and baking to both her children and the family tradition of cooking and sharing good food together is still going strong. For Mary and Harry, the 1950's and 60's was a time of working together to realize their shared dream of building their own home. They settled their family in Northern California, where Harry managed a succession of shoe stores, Mary working right along with him as a cashier and sales person. After several years, they were able to build their dream home in Saratoga, California. Harry's employment eventually took them back to Southern California for a few decades, but no matter where they lived, Mary was always able to create a beautiful, welcoming home for her family and their friends. In 1984 Mary and Harry retired to Rio Del Mar, to be close to Bette and Richard, who had set-tled in Santa Cruz a decade earlier. Mary once again created an elegant and warm environment which was the scene of many happy family holidays and celebrations. She and Harry both en-joyed being outdoors in their garden, and spent many hours raising wonderful flowers and vege-tables. By this time, Richard was married to Janet Magleby, and in 1982, they delighted Mary with a beautiful granddaughter, Sara Rachael Lindenbaum. Sara now lives in Napa, California, and has inherited the family appreciation of the culinary arts. In her later years, Mary's life centered around her family, and especially on caring for her dear husband, Harry, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 94. Mary survived him for 8 more years. She still enjoyed movies, reading and visiting with friends and family, but she missed him with all her heart. Mary passed away peacefully on December 10, 2016. She was 96 years old. She is survived by her children, Bette Jeanne, Richard and Janet Lindenbaum; and her granddaughter, Sara Linden-baum. She will be deeply missed, but will live on in their hearts as a gracious, loving, generous mother and wife who will continue to inspire them in countless ways all their lives.