Madeline Jean Cuneo was born on January 25, 1923 in Hollywood, California. She was raised by her mom and grandmother. By the time she was a toddler, she was dragged everywhere by her older sister Amelia (MiMi). Growing up, she enjoyed going to the beach with her family.
She attended Hollywood High School and appeared in operettas and played on the softball team. She also started working at a local restaurant. Having had a very protective father, she never was allowed to own a bicycle and her dating was pretty much attending clubs with her Dad and her sister.
Her husband-to-be John Finley against all odds was able to gain favor with Madeline’s Dad, and they were allowed to go on a first date, only if chaperoned by her brother Peter. This led to their marriage on September 26, 1942, a small civil ceremony attended by her sister Amelia and John’s best man. Soon after, the first child, Kathryn Marie, was born on June 24, 1943. Because John was in the United States Air Force, the family lived for six months in Colorado Springs. Madeline enjoyed talking about cooking on the wood stove and the road trip that she and MiMi took, returning to California after John went overseas with the Air Force. John retired from the military in November 5, 1945. He became a reserve officer in January of 1945. The same year they bought their first home for $8,000 with a down payment of $4000 that John had received from the military when he retired. At the end of that year on December 16, 1946, the second child, Jean Anne was born
Madeline was a full-time mother and more. She was the mother who drove the car full of girls to sporting and social events, the mother who listened to not only her daughters’ but their friends’ stories and problems. She was also the aunt who supported her nieces and nephews. She kept a beautiful house and garden, an expert at growing roses and camilias. She was the poolman, repairman, and caretaker of the pets, her own and sometimes strays. Cats were her specialty. Wherever she lived—house or apartment-- there were extra bowls of food outside for the neighborhood cats, even at the Granada hills home with the pool and the six foot fence in the backyard. She was quite the athlete also: a catcher on the softball team (breaking a couple of fingers in the process), a golfer, and a bowler (bowling in leagues with John, including a number of 200 games). A dedicated Catholic, she was a consistent churchgoer and volunteer at the local parishes wherever she lived while her children were growing up.
When her children married, Kathy on August 24, 1963 to Jeff Cox and Jean Anne to Bill Conlon on April 26, 1969, she became a mother-in-law and was truly loved by her sons-in-law. She would remark on a regular basis how much she enjoyed Jeff’s teasing. She was a mother-in-law to be proud of. Bill would explain that you could tell what a woman would look like when she got older by looking at her mother, so he knew that marrying Jean Anne was a good idea.
Even though she loved her sons-in-law, her greater love were the grandchildren to come. Her first, Kristi, was born to Kathy and Jeff on December 22, 1964. Madeline bought Kristi her first bike because she regretted that she had not been allowed to have a bike when she was young. And when Kristi was a teenager, Kristi would fly down to see Grandma, where she would lounge by the pool and have a truly carefree vacation. Her second grandchild, Victoria, was born to Kathy and Jeff on October 10, 1967. In Grandma’s eyes, Victoria could do no wrong. Madeline so enjoyed taking the girls to Disneyland and would visit them in Tahoe and even arranged for a family vacation in Manhattan Beach for a week. Her third grandchild, Nicole, was born to Jean Anne and Bill on November 10, 1973. One of Nicole and Grandma’s favorite things was to play in a rubber kayak in Nicole’s room. Her fourth grandchild, Chad, was born to Jean Anne and Bill on May 3, 1977. Madeline flew up to take care of Chad when Jean Anne had to go to work, delighting in and worrying over the first boy. As Nicole and Chad grew older, they would visit with Grandma and Grandpa while Jean Anne and Bill went on trips. Grandma would let them” play with the poker chips” and pour them “root beer shots.” And when the grandchildren would get together for some of Grandma’s cooking, it was often her “famous” grilled cheese sandwiches and root beer floats.
After John retired, Madeline went from a full-time homemaker to a volunteer and then employee at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, California, where her sister MiMi worked. Madeline was in her fifties at the time. When most people are thinking about and planning for their retirement, Madeline began a new job and she was wonderful at it. She was proud of how organized she was and how well she worked with the doctors and patients. That compassion that she showed to her children and grandchildren was now what made her a wonderful hospital worker, a job that she enjoyed so much that when she moved north, she continued to be a volunteer at Steven’s Hospital in Edmonds, Washington, where she made a new group of friends.
As John’s health problems increased, it was time for the big move from Southern California north to the state of Washington. Soon after, John passed away on July 16, 1991. It was a sad time, but Madeline was comforted by living so close to Kathy and her girls. And then came the blessing of great grandchildren: Keaton and Drake (Kristi’s boys); Kennedy and Kemper (Victoria’s children); Bishop and Lincoln (Nicole’s boys). No surprise she was as wonderful a Great Grandmother as a Mother and Grandmother. When Keaton was born, she delighted in not only being Great Grandmother (GG as she was to be affectionately called by all her great grandchildren) but also his caregiver for the first year of his life. GG was always there for the birthdays, holidays, and special celebrations as well as just the day to day activities with her great grandchildren. She was thrilled that her great grandchildren seemed to enjoy being part of the theater as much as she did the operettas when she was a teenager. She was able to attend many of the productions until her health began to fail.
As Madeline realized that her memory was failing, her great granddaughter was “Beautiful,” and her great grandsons were “Handsome.” Even in the last months of her life, she would “light up” when one of the family would come to visit. Everyone was entitled to a smile and a wink, even her caregivers who were so good to her. One of the caregivers remarked that she loved that Madeline would tell her how beautiful she was.
Madeline was a sweet, loving Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother, who was deeply loved. She was the heart of our family and made us the loving, compassionate people we are today. We owe her so much and treasure our memories. She taught us to appreciate life and family and not take ourselves too seriously. When asked how old she was in the last year of her life, she said, “I am really not sure anymore because I have given so many ages.” No matter, she was ageless.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18