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JEAN GUEST Obituary
(March 1, 1921 - February 10, 2017) Jean Haden Guest died peacefully at her home in Santa Monica, a few weeks short of her 96th birthday. She was born in New York City to Dr. Albert and Frieda Hindes, Russian immigrants who had a deep appreciation for the arts and a reverence for Chekov. Her relatives spoke Yiddish and throughout her life Jean relished peppering her speech with Yiddish words and expressions. Jean had a long, successful career in both theater and television. She served as Director of the American National Theater Academy (ANTA) before leaving to represent actors at Wender & Associates. Subsequently she moved on to CBS Television, where she became Vice President and Head of Talent. Jean was a great cook and a generous host. During the 1960's her home was filled with her children's friends who came for dinner and stayed for sleepovers. She had extraordinary friendships, some of which lasted for seventy years. She was a devoted confidant to younger women, advising them in matters of love and work, but her favorite role in life was as a grandmother. Jean was married for 50 years to the late Lord Peter Haden Guest, the Fourth Baron of Saling, who was a former ballet dancer with the Markova-Dolin Company prior to becoming Chief of Editorial Control at the United Nations. She leaves behind four children: actor/ director Christopher Guest of Santa Monica, actor Nicholas Guest of Los Angeles, children's book author Elissa Haden Guest of San Francisco, journalist stepson Anthony Haden-Guest of New York City, seven grandchildren and one great-grandson.
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Memories and Condolences
for JEAN GUEST
2 Entries
Kelly Curtis
July 7, 2017
My heart goes out to the family and friends of Jean "Puji" Guest for I know that if they feel the loss of their mother, grandmother, great grandmother and dear friend more than I do, it must be a difficult burden of grief to bear. I was one of her "young women" friends whom she mentored and befriended, giving of herself in spirit, intellect, instinctual maternal care and unconditional love, and offering her unique service as sage advisor, teacher, best friend, social butterfly, and partner in the act of living life to it's fullest and most hilarious. Our relationship was never boring. On opposite sides of the political table, we always "agreed to disagree" when our debates became too heated and threatened to affect in any way our love for each other or as she loved me to say "harshed our mellow". For above all, we loved each other's company. Whether it was watching TV, dining in a restaurant, attending a social gathering, or just having a cup of tea, there was always something that felt just right. We truly felt that our friendship was "beshert" (preordained) and appeared "to bear the fingerprints of divine providence", which amused me to no end coming from a woman who as far as I knew was Atheistic in her spiritual life. She was fiercely loyal in her love of me and protected me with the care of a mother lioness. I will never forget a piece of child rearing advice that she gave a friend at a baby shower we both attended: "Give them lots of love and calculated neglect". She was always ready to be surprised and delighted by the myriad escapades and adventures of her friends and family and loved to share, in her generous way, those stories with me. I would call her character self deprecating and humble within a great sea of self confidence and ambition filled with vast expanses of love and the desire to see the best in humanity. Oh how I'll miss her but I know I will carry her in my heart and soul as long as I walk the earth. In gratitude to G-d for giving me, Mrs. Jean Haden Guest, my darling "Puji".
July 4, 2017
In loving and cherished memories of wonderful person who will be missed, may she R.I.P and may you be comforted by prayers, memories, and God's promise to us at Hos :13:14 all will be made new and death will be no more.
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