Marian Jewett Hadad

Marian Hadad passed peacefully during the night of April 9 at the home of her son and daughter-in-law at the venerable age of 93. She was a proud mother of Allan and Elaine and loving mother-in-law to Allan’s wife Debbie. Marian had recently broken her back, requiring two weeks care at Kaiser Hospital in San Jose. With lockdowns in place, she was not able to get the required care at her apartment at Sunrise Villa, so Allan and Debbie welcomed her to their home. At first she appeared to be recovering, but she steadily declined, to our regret.

Marian was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Ralph and Margaret Jewett. She became the first member of her family to acquire a college degree, an Associate in Business from Kansas City Junior College in 1945. When she was an executive secretary for TWA in Kansas City, she went on a double date with a girlfriend and met the love of her life, Alexander (Al) Hadad. They married within 7 months on August 3, 1948 and remained together for 59 years until Al’s death in 2008. They moved frequently due to Al’s work, living in Illinois, New Mexico, Arizona, New Jersey, Kentucky, Missouri, Guam, Missouri again, and finally settling in San Jose, California in 1969.

Marian worked many full- and part-time jobs during her marriage to help support her family at TWA, United Airlines, and various real estate businesses, and also occasionally as an elementary school librarian (an actual Marian the Librarian). She was a prolific letter writer, corresponding with family and friends for decades until health issues recently prevented her from doing so. Marian loved her home on Bela Drive in San Jose, where many neighbors became life-long friends. Her favorite spot was the window by her kitchen table, where she could enjoy breakfast and watch neighbors passing by outside. After breaking her shoulder in 2018, she decided to move to an apartment at Sunrise Villa, an assisted living facility, just 5 miles from Allan and Debbie. Here she socialized with residents and enjoyed many bus trips to restaurants and scenic areas around the Bay Area. She made the difficult decision to sell her house in 2019; it had provided 50 years of memories of family gatherings and parties.

Marian lived a long, happy life filled with travel, laughter, and many friends. She was known for her kind and gracious manner. Marian was happiest when conversing with family, friends, her beloved parakeet Mr. Pip, and granddog Marley, Allan and Debbie’s rescue dog. A celebration of Marian’s life will be announced by her family once the shelter in place order is lifted. Charitable contributions can be made in her honor to Breathe California, Habitat for Humanity, or your local public library.