Barbara J Mandell

Our Mom – Our Extraordinary Role Model From our earliest memories, Mom was always a leader – from organizing bowling leagues and tennis tournaments, to Girl Scout Leader, to President of the Pied Pipers Hospital Guild. A stay-at-home mom and volunteer for many years, she metaphorically burned her bra in the 1960s by going back to university and becoming one of the first computer programmers, helping to open the field to women and serving as the first woman president of the Orange County Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery. Her range of interests and commitment to life experiences gave us such a rich life growing up. Creatively, she was our own Julia Child, furiously copying Julia’s recipes off live TV and hosting sumptuous and elegant seven-course dinner parties. A consummate bridge player with Masterpoints, she instilled a love of cards through all successive generations and would be so proud to see her great grandchildren now eagerly playing Hand and Foot. Ever open to adventure, she and Dad traveled with us for four months in Europe and on family vacations throughout the West, and they later traveled to China, Taiwan, and Mexico and back to Europe. Mom had a huge heart, always treating everyone as equals, always an instant friend to anyone she met. She taught us to care for others, and never leave a hotel room without leaving a tip. She also could be hysterically funny with exquisite comic timing like Lucille Ball and Gracie of her time, so much so that she and Dad joked about creating a comedy act for the retirement home circuit. And she was always committed to family – creating big holiday gatherings, putting her girls through university, playing monopoly and card games with girls and grandkids, taking annual camping and lake trips, and finally dedicating herself to keeping Dad alive for years beyond his prognosis until he died at home with her on their 58th wedding anniversary in 2008. Mom, you provided an extraordinary example of a life well lived with love and contribution. Thank you. You are forever in our hearts.