Marjorie Louise Lardy

Marjorie Louise Lardy

October 23, 1928 -
November 1, 2013

Our mom was one of a kind. Her nickname was "Sparky" given to her by our dad. This was because she loved electronic items. She has a collection of radios, some working some not. The ones that didn't work became a source of spare parts for repairing the ones that could be repaired. When we were kids growing up she built our first color TV. Dad and Pat asked her every day, "When are you going to be done"? It seemed to take forever but in reality it was completed in a couple of months. Dad couldn't wait for her to get it done. He wanted to watch Princess Grace get married on the color TV. So mom let him watch it even though she had not completed the fine-tuning of the TV. Over time she had many jobs. She worked at Iowa Pack, packing fruit punch. Back in Iowa she also packed olives. On many occasions, she would tell the story about being offered a bonus if the crew packed more than the normal amount. Unfortunately, they stuffed them so full that there was not enough room for the brine. They had to repack all of the olives. Later she worked as an Executive Secretary for Farmers Insurance in Des Moines, Iowa. Her father, Julius Dennewill, had planned to move the family to California, but he died before they could make the trip. A few years later, Mom told her Mother that she was going to California. Later that day her Mother decided to move too. They headed to California after her two brothers enlisted in the service. Lloyd Dennewill enlisted in the Navy as a cook. Robert Dennewill enlisted in the Air Force. Her sister Iva May Dennewill had married Harry Moy and was then living in Chicago. Upon arriving in California, our grandmother Iva Dennewill bought a house in San Pedro. The house was located on 18th street between Center and Mesa. It was fairly close to Fort MacArthur. After arriving in California, Mom found a job at the Cosgrove Insurance Company in Los Angeles as a secretary. While working there, she even prepared a policy for Lou Costello and actually got to meet him. She was excited to be employed by an insurance company that even did policies for the movie stars. When she was first hired she was told, "be careful don't waste the stationery it's engraved." Later on, Patricia Lardy, her daughter would grow up to be a Certified Engraving Pressperson making stationery like she typed on. Later she was convinced to go to work for Van Camp Insurance Company in San Pedro by Mr. Brady. Over time, she became Mr. Van Camp's and Jenny Bezich's secretary. Our Mom's girl friends convinced her to go to a dance they had at the YW. She didn't care much for most of the young men she was meeting that evening and really wanted to go home. She had eyed a Chrysler Imperial out front of the YW and it was a convertible. A man came in looking like he belonged to the car. He was wearing a sheepskin jacket and wasn't dressed in a uniform. She just knew he had to be the one with the car out front. He looked the part. Needless to say, this was my Dad, Jack Lardy and he didn't like wearing a uniform. He asked her to dance. Later that year, they got married on October 25, 1951 at Fort MacArthur. Over time, she and our dad ran a Union Oil Station. They would call it an Onion Oil Station on Terminal Island. They built Miraleste Plaza in Rancho Palos Verdes. She helped her son become a stock broker at Crowell Weedon and Company by introducing him to the market at age 8. They also helped their daughter by investing in a bakery back in Naperville, Illinois called "Trisha's Temptations". Later helping again as their daughter came back to California and Started 3 online web shops. TrishasTemptations.com, JacksToyStore.com, and DreamAngels.net. One of her favorite things she liked to do was to write to the Wall Street Journal and make comments about stories. The comments she made were often published. She loved seeing that her comments were published word for word. Including her named spelled correctly. We would like to thank our Mom and Dad for all the help and love they gave us along the way! We could have never done it without them! A special gathering will take place with family and friends. Please call Patricia Lardy at 310-549-0237 or Don Lardy 714-521-6824 for more details. In lieu of flowers, be kind to someone you don't even know.