How can one express the amazing essence and spirit of Marcy, her selfless generosity, her belief in all that is good and her unwavering commitment to family and friends. Bryan, how blessed you were to have had Marcy as your Mother, may your memories help you heal during this time. And Marcy so blessed to have you as her son. You had such a special relationship and I will never be able to express my deepest gratitude and love to you for bringing her to Santa Barbara. Being able to spend so much time and sharing with her was a beautiful gift. I also want to say that I am so happy that you and Keri found each other; I know how important it was to Marcy for you to have a special and loving life partner. It was so special to share your wedding day and I am so happy that Marcy could be there.
Words, even the best of words, cannot pay tribute or truly capture the sense of loss we are all feeling. The loss is tangible and real within everyone…we remember Marcy’s life, love, laughter, and irrepressible smile, the amazing person who has played a unique and special role in all our lives.
For me, our friendship was a blessing of my lifetime. I have truly a treasure of the most amazing memories, because of you my dear, dear friend. These memories have been swirling in my mind for weeks, reminiscent of you and a picture of our friendship throughout the years. It is hard to recall a time when we weren’t there for each other good and tough times. So many memories of adventures undertaken, of course, you were the more cautious one, as I was full steam ahead. We shared so many firsts with each other. Like our first date, our parents wouldn’t let us date alone, so we went on our first date together, two Gymnasts at Canoga Park High, not our type, but we wanted to go on “a date” and we did. There was barely a time when we weren’t at one another’s homes. We did a lot a walking before being old enough to drive just to meet up maybe to get a soda at the local drug store fountain, we loved chocolate cokes, or to go to Corbin Bowl or Movie theatre. Sometimes after school we would watch the Millionaire, at the time I could not understand why you would cry (every time), I learned what a special heart you had. I couldn’t even begin to count the time we spent at the beach, Salton Sea, and Meeks Bay, picnics, and just having fun and enjoying our friendship. As adults, sharing our kids graduations, weddings, Holidays. Indeed, we were lucky to share so much. Our family loves you so much you were our family and our grandkids “Grandma Marcy”. .How lucky Zack, Ryan, Pierce and Sara were to have another Grandma, they loved visiting you and spending time with you sharing with you. They always had a lot to tell you. It was a pure delight to see your face light up when they would come to visit. Our children, my Dad, Tom and I will remember and hold close to our hearts our times with you. You will always be remembered and continue to live in our hearts. We celebrate your life and the special person we have all loved and shared our lives.
Marcy, thank you, you lived, loved and were the Best Friend I could ever be blessed with, I will be forever grateful to have 54 years of memories to treasure always.
Tour Company Owner Makes Wine in Memory of His Mother
By Matt Kettmann
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
On October 4, 2010, the day after his mom died at the end of a 15-year fight against multiple sclerosis, Bryan Hope cleared his mind by picking chardonnay grapes from a vineyard on East Valley Road, a free crop of fruit that he had stumbled upon while searching Craigslist for a lawnmower. It had been a dreary summer, so powdery mildew nearly annihilated the crop, but Hope pulled enough grapes to fill about a quarter of a half-ton bin. “I wanted to make it in the style that my mom liked,” said Hope, who made 50 total bottles of native yeast-fermented wine at Demetria Estate Winery, one of his favorite places to take people on his Sustainable Vine Wine Tours (sustainablevine.com), “and she liked oaky, buttery chardonnay.”
To mark the one-year anniversary of Marcy Hope's passing, Bryan sent out about two dozen bottles to family and close friends, and on October 3 of this year, they drank in unison. Last week, I got my chance to sip one of the few remaining Marcy bottles under a massive avocado tree on Chino Street in the yard of Tyler Tomblin, who is Hope's good friend, despite being the co-owner of competing wine country company Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours (winetourssantaynez.com). It was a soulful chard, golden and impressively balanced for a first-time winemaker like Hope, even standing up strongly to Sanguis Wine's recently released and extra excellent Polly Anne Chardonnay. (The afternoon tasting also featured two 1983 Sanford & Benedict wines — a cab and pinot, both well past their primes — as well as the Refugio Ranch's beautiful Barbareño blend of syrah and petite sirah and Harrison Clarke's Cuvée Charlotte, a whopper syrah.) To further honor his mom, Hope is donating a couple bottles and a Sustainable Wine tour to Hospice of Santa Barbara for an auction next year.
So what would Marcy have thought of the results? “Are you kidding me?” responded Hope. “She would have loved it!”
Deborah "Debbie" Dunlap (Wolf)
October 2010
Deborah "Debbie" Dunlap (Wolf)
Chardonnay for Mom
Tour Company Owner Makes Wine in Memory of His Mother
By Matt Kettmann
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
On October 4, 2010, the day after his mom died at the end of a 15-year fight against multiple sclerosis, Bryan Hope cleared his mind by picking chardonnay grapes from a vineyard on East Valley Road, a free crop of fruit that he had stumbled upon while searching Craigslist for a lawnmower. It had been a dreary summer, so powdery mildew nearly annihilated the crop, but Hope pulled enough grapes to fill about a quarter of a half-ton bin. “I wanted to make it in the style that my mom liked,” said Hope, who made 50 total bottles of native yeast-fermented wine at Demetria Estate Winery, one of his favorite places to take people on his Sustainable Vine Wine Tours (sustainablevine.com), “and she liked oaky, buttery chardonnay.”
To mark the one-year anniversary of Marcy Hope's passing, Bryan sent out about two dozen bottles to family and close friends, and on October 3 of this year, they drank in unison. Last week, I got my chance to sip one of the few remaining Marcy bottles under a massive avocado tree on Chino Street in the yard of Tyler Tomblin, who is Hope's good friend, despite being the co-owner of competing wine country company Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours (winetourssantaynez.com). It was a soulful chard, golden and impressively balanced for a first-time winemaker like Hope, even standing up strongly to Sanguis Wine's recently released and extra excellent Polly Anne Chardonnay. (The afternoon tasting also featured two 1983 Sanford & Benedict wines — a cab and pinot, both well past their primes — as well as the Refugio Ranch's beautiful Barbareño blend of syrah and petite sirah and Harrison Clarke's Cuvée Charlotte, a whopper syrah.) To further honor his mom, Hope is donating a couple bottles and a Sustainable Wine tour to Hospice of Santa Barbara for an auction next year.
So what would Marcy have thought of the results? “Are you kidding me?” responded Hope. “She would have loved it!”
Nancy Gould (Ladisky)
Rest in peace Marcy, you are gone but t not forgotten.