Just picked this up in the NYTimes today:
LillianRubin Obit
This probably mean absolutely nothing to most of you wine folks…but it’s a sad marker for me.
Lilian was a world-recognized psycholigist. Her husband was HankRubin…so the SWR connection. Hank was the wine columnist for the original BonApetit magazine, back when it was a freebie publication from Pilsbury out of KansasCity. Hank & I developed a lively exchange back in the early '70’s. He was also the first (I believe) wine columnist for the SFChron. He went on to become the Editor for PhilipSeldon’s Vintage magazine, for whom I wrote. He was a ferocious but gracious editor of my articles, managing to turn some of the crap I submitted into a decent article. We became close friends and I would visit Hank often when I was in the Bay area. Hank developed severe Alzheimers and Lillian had to put him in a facilty for those folks. I managed to see Hank just a few months afore he died. He didn’t recognize me, but it was clear that he enjoyed the visit from the gleam in his eyes. Hank was one of the finest gentlemen I ever met in the wine world…and there are many of those kind.
Thru Hank, I met Lillian (or…as Hank affectionately referred to her…“Lil”), his daughter Marci, and grandson, Blake. It was clear that Hank thought the world of Lil.
Lillian was an absolutely gem of a lady…extremely charming. She had a genuine personal touch and always took an interest in what I had to say (unlike my teenage daughter at the time). I read all of her books. Though they lacked any integro-differential equations and were rather outside my area of expertise, I found them very worthwhile & thought-provoking reads.
Hank wrote a book: “Spains Cause Was Mine” about his experience in the LincolnBrigade serving in Spain in the run-up to WWII. It’s an absolutely fascinating read that I would highly recommend.
As an aside, Lillian was a friend of SteveEdmund’s wife, CorneliaStJohn. EdmundsStJohn may ring a bell w/ some of you.
Anyway, Lillian’s death marks the end of my last link to Hank…one of the most special of people I’ve had the privilege of knowing.
Tom