Eleanor Newell Memorial - 1

On September 10th 1999, my mother, Eleanor Newell passed away.  My stepfather, sculptor Gordon Newell, preceded her in death on December 6th, 1998.  We hadn't had a death in the family since my father, author and screenwriter John McPartland, died on September 14th, 1958.
 

Here's a sort of saintly looking photo of Eleanor from the mid-1990's.  The shadowy figure in the background is me.

My sister, Jan McPartland, and longtime family friend Cheryl (Neumann) Bindel organized a gathering of the "Old Gang" to remember Eleanor and Gordon.

The event was held on October 17th, 1999 at Lover's Point Park in Pacific Grove, California.
 
Gordon Newell created this "Monarch Butterfly" sculpture for the City of Pacific Grove in 1964.

I met Gordon when I returned from a 1964 sojourn in Pennsylvania with my half-sister Cynthia & family.  He and Eleanor had become a couple and Gordon newly a part of our family.

I got to know him when I dug the hole for the concrete caisson beneath the sculpture and did other hard, dirty jobs on the installation.

Gordon proposed marriage to Eleanor here beside his sculpture in this beautiful park by the sea.
 
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