Frances Virginia Lick Machris

MACHRIS, Frances Virginia Lick "Paquita," age 95, widow of the late Maurice Machris, died on October 7, 2007. Daughter of Charles and Rose Zobelein Lick, she was a second generation Los Angelino, and hailed from a family with distinct contributions to the community of Los Angeles. Her father owned and operated the Lick Pier in Venice until it burned down in 1924. Her great grand-uncle, James Lick, envisioned, built, and endowed the Lick Observatory at Mt. Hamilton in Santa Cruz, which Paquita continued to support throughout her lifetime. On the Zobelein side, her grandfather owned the Los Angeles Brewing Company, and her mother was instrumental in the development of the Hollywood Bowl. Her husband, "Maury" was an executive of the Wilshire Oil Company. An accomplished sports-woman, Paquita accompanied her husband on many safaris throughout Africa, Brazil, and India. Together they contributed thousands of bird, insect, and mammal specimens to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. Their exhibit of elephants at the Museum is still the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. Paquita was particularly proud of the success of their efforts to help organize Operation Oryx, a plan to save the Arabian Oryx from extinction by breeding them in captivity and then reintroducing the species into the wild in Israel and Jordan so that they could rebuild their herds. Movies documenting their expeditions have been shown at the Museum. Mrs. Machris contributed generously to many worthwhile causes and charities, including Wildlife Preservation Trust International; NRA; Charles F. Menninger Society; Berkeley Hall School; the Zoological Society of San Diego (San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park); the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association; and Pepperdine University. Organizations benefiting from her time and effort on their behalf included the Associates of the House Ear Institute, Trustee Affiliates of Berkeley Hall School, ARCS, the Alliance Board of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, the California Historical Society, and Kids Talk Foundation. In addition, she was a Founding Member of the Los Angeles Music Center and Historian of the Bel-Air Garden Club. Predeceased by her sister, Rosemary, who authored a biography of James Lick entitled, "The Generous Miser", Paquita is survived by two sons, Robert and Terry; a daughter, Marla Hooker; three grand-children, Stacey, Lesley and Stephen; a great-grandson, Nicholas; and two great-grand-daughters, Juliette and Carolina. In lieu of flowers, Donations can be made to: ARCS Foundation, Inc. - 24520 Hawthorne Boulevard, Torrance, California 90505-6505 or The Roar Foundation - 6867 Soledad Canyon Road, Acton, California 93510. Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at All Saints Episcopal Church - 504 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park - 1712 South Glendale Avenue, California 91205.