Sentimental Sunday: Sailing New Worlds Together

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick  (1892 – 1981)   Not until the early 1980s did time finally begin to catch up with the couple who had deftly evaded its reach their whole lives.   Benita (McGinnis) McCormick gazes lovingly at an oil portrait by  artist Mary Rowley of her husband, Philip McCormick, on their 50th wedding anniversary, at their San … Continue reading "Sentimental Sunday: Sailing New Worlds Together"

Amanuensis Monday: Portrait of a Woman

  Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) A local Bay Area feature story from the mid- 1970s depicts Benita (McGinnis) McCormick  with mementos from her travels. Clipping courtesy of Suzanne Olson Wieland. [Note:  Amanuensis is an ancient word meaning one who performs the function of writing down or transcribing the words of another.  Derived from the Latin root manu-  , meaning manual or hand, the … Continue reading "Amanuensis Monday: Portrait of a Woman"

Travel Tuesday: The Exotic and the Mundane in Mexico City

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 – 1981) Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 – 2009) Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) From the Many Branches, One Tree treasure chest, this 1966 photograph celebrates the spring visit of my great-uncle-and-aunt, Phil and Benita (McGinnis) McCormick, to Mexico City, where our family was living at the time. … Continue reading "Travel Tuesday: The Exotic and the Mundane in Mexico City"

Treasure Chest Thursday: We’ll Always Have Barcelona

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 – 1981) Married couples often have a private word or catchphrase, born of shared experiences and rich with meaning.  My great-uncle and great-aunt, Phillip and Benita (McGinnis) McCormick’s catchphrase was, “We’ll always have Barcelona.” “Las Ramblas” depicts a Sunday afternoon on the famous boulevard in Barcelona. My … Continue reading "Treasure Chest Thursday: We’ll Always Have Barcelona"

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Visiting El Greco Museum

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 – 1981) Toledo, about an hour’s drive from Madrid in central Spain, was one of the excursiones requisitas,  or obligatory stops, for my great-aunt and artist Benita (McGinnis) McCormick.  She and my great-uncle Phil made a pilgrimage to the Museo del Greco during their year-long Spanish sojourn in 1960, to view the … Continue reading "(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Visiting El Greco Museum"

Wedding Wednesday: Ole and Jane (McCormick) Olson

  Benita Jane “Janie” (McCormick) Olson     (1927 – 2011) Elson “Ole” Olson (1924 – 1994) Secret courtyard passage, Carmel-by-the-Sea On May 6, 1960, while 20 million television viewers watched England’s Princess Margaret marry Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey, Eldon Olson and Benita Jane McCormick were being married in front of two witnesses in the quaint … Continue reading "Wedding Wednesday: Ole and Jane (McCormick) Olson"