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May 30, 1919 - February 27, 2017 "Let Me Tell You One Thing" In the early morning hours of Monday, February 27, 2017, Dr. Fernando Morales passed. At close to 98 years old, his mind and opinions were as sharp as his 30-year old self. Born in Cuba and raised in various parts of the country that included Camaguey, Havana and Guantanamo, he came to the United States at 23 years old to complete his internship at Santa Monica Hospital, eventually becoming an Anesthesiologist for many, many years. He was the real life "most interesting man in the world." He loved his family, first and foremost, motorcycles, tennis, waterskiing, animals, radio-controlled airplanes, photography, and had an affinity for building projects. One thing that always stood out was his ability to recall memories, events and names. Back in the early 2000s he wrote an autobiography titled, "The Memories of My Childhood and Things I Have Built." He married Marilyn Marshall on June 1, 1949 at her parents' home in Santa Monica. Friends of theirs thought it wouldn't last 6 months. They were coming up on 68 years! Fernando and Marilyn built their home in Pacific Palisades in 1952 and they haven't left since. They raised their two daughters, Teresa and Marilyn, and many pugs, cats, canaries, bunnies and a monkey, there. They opened their home to visitors from around the world and hosted hundreds and hundreds of friends and family members for parties, weddings, dinners, holidays, and good times over the years. Fernando (Ferdi to his friends) loved to travel, and travel he did! Planes, trains, ships, and automobiles (how he loved the automobile). Think 10 day road trip to, oh¿New York City¿for a honeymoon, in 1949, long before Google Maps and Waze. He played tennis all over the world with People to People, and even played at the White House, rode his motorcycle in Europe with the BMW Club, and took his family on road trips everywhere. His two favorite places, besides his beloved Santa Monica were Lake Arrowhead (where he spent 16 years enjoying water skiing and teaching a myriad of friends to ski), and San Francisco where he had been a longtime aficionado of Beach Blanket Babylon, The Slanted Door Restaurant (way before its current popularity) and hoofing it up and down those hills with his wife in tow. Besides his wife, Marilyn, of almost 68 years, his daughters Teresa and Marilyn, "Popi" is survived by his grandchildren: Travis, Chloe, Caroline (Talen), Alexandria, Drew and Jessica (Mike); his great-grandchildren, Thaddeus and Grant; special nephew, Ignacio, to whom he was very close; many other nieces and nephews;his beloved god-daughter, Magda; an extended family in Spain; and an "in-law" family, The Berger Bunch, who adored him. "We will miss, you Popi. There will never be anyone quite like you. Rest In Peace." May 30, 1919 - February 27, 2017 Celebration of his life to be held at a later date.
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Published in the Los Angeles Times from Mar. 1 to Mar. 5, 2017
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