Mary Anne Miller
by Supervisor Aaron Peskin
Colleagues, I am very saddened by the recent passing of my dear friend and a ferocious neighborhood advocate, Mary Anne Miller. Over two weeks ago, she had a nasty fall at her house, and was hospitalized and transferred to the Victorian Post Acute Care. On Friday, she was transferred to Hospice where she passed, leaving behind many longtime friends and loved ones.
She was known for her longtime advocacy on behalf of neighborhoods in San Francisco, particularly her beloved Sunset District. I’ve known her for over 20 years, and her comments, complaints, and recommendations to policy makers, public servants and powerful public and private entities were legend. Mary Anne could be controversial at times, but she always stimulated debate – and ultimately action. She served as the Secretary of the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, where she championed community planning and neighborhood voice in municipal affairs. We worked closely together during the successful fight to push back the Sacramento power grab with Senate Bills 827 and 828. She understood the value of neighborhoods having a voice in shaping their own destiny and having the power to push for infrastructure, open space, affordable housing and schools. She also served as a longtime Board member and former President of SPEAK (Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee). She also served on the Presidio Environmental Council and the Alliance for Golden Gate Park. She helped to put “the outside lands” on the San Francisco map as a neighborhood where families could thrive and neighbors could engage in face-to-face contact on everything from social recreation to neighborhood improvements. The Sunset community has lost one of its strongest voices.
She joined San Francisco Tomorrow’s Board in 1991, serving on the Planning and Base Closure Committees. In 2015, San Francisco Tomorrow presented Mary Anne with the Jack Morrison Lifetime Achievement Award for her dedication, verve, clarity of vision and deep community spirit. Local environmental activist Pinky Kushner characterized Mary Anne as a “Renaissance woman,” and shared examples of her tenacious advocacy, like the time she insisted that Golden Gate Park’s North Lake renovation use a durable clay bottom versus a concrete one, or her campaign to have the new De Young Museum faced with copper sidings that oxidized and blended into the natural environment over time.
Mary Anne was a knowledgeable and determined champion for what was right and beautiful about San Francisco. She was always ready to engage in public discussion about developments and their impact on communities struggling to stay in the city. She was a champion for housing preservation, building more community centers, and increasing community gardens and public open and green space.
Mary Anne held Masters Degrees in both Arts Education and Architecture. She joined the city’s Planning Department in the late 1970’s, but resigned when she decided that she could do more as a citizen activist. She was a gifted artist, writer, environmentalist and gardener, and enjoyed the cornucopia of San Francisco arts and culture. She would no doubt have wanted us to remember her legacy by supporting those same local grassroots arts events and organizations.
I just read Kathy’s beautiful summation on Mary Ann Miller… Kathy has blossomed into a worthy successor of Mary Ann’s mantle. as evidenced by her own life and accomplishments…
I am in the Inner Sunset, on the board of SHARP, the Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People…(sharpsf.com)
Mary Ann, until a couple of years ago, would attend our meetings, in the interest of working together.
That I am the first to comment here, 5 months after Kathy has written this…should not be taken as the community not agreeing with what Kathy wrote.. Rather: trying to address Mary Ann’s life is like trying to write an essay on the beauty of Yosemite Park, upon first seeing it… Overwhelming
Kathy probably “self-edited” in the interests of not overwhelming the reader.
jack barry, the Inner Sunset
I lived across the street from Mary and Jim. I did not know either of them. Im always very cautious of meeting my neighbors, not because I am anti social, but because we all live on top of each other, trip over each other as we go about our way in the city…and above all, we love our privacy. So when I heard about Mrs Millers death, I wasnt heavily affected. I saw her and gave her or her husband a nod from time to time. They usually returned it, but that was about it. A few weeks back the family was having an estate sale…and i went. There was little of interest for me(SF flats arent very big, and they fill up quickly) except for a few boxes of old Kodachrome slides. Im a photographer, and I love old slides. So I bough about 3 000 of them cheap. I began the process of scanning them. What I found amazed me. This incredible couple…they had such vision…beautiful photos, that documented incredible times and adventures…and their commitment to community and helping others became very evident. I mean, these folks designed playgrounds….that says something. I got to scan about 1000 of the slides and decided I needed to get the rest of them. IM currently in the process of scanning all of them in order to tell their storry in some way. They were incredible people, and it broke my heart that I didnt celebrate them while they were alive. I could go on and on…so I will just say this. Most people do one great thing in their lives if they are lucky. Mary Ann(and her husband) saw the world, built playgrounds and open green spaces, climbed mountains, and wrote a book. As of today, this is all I know, but with each box of slides I open, I find more and more greatness. I didnt know her or Jim, but I find I love them both. If anyone ever reads this post….please check out their lives in photos…many more to come. RIP
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLwYEqj
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLquPDn
Hello Mr. Douglas,
I was shocked to read of Mary Anne’s passing. Her husband Jim(James Suekama) was my cousin. Yes, they both were incredible people. I hope you have scanned all of the slides; Is there any way I can purchase a copy on a thumb drive? I have enjoyed the photos you have posted. James was a favorite cousin and I miss both of them tremendously.
Thank you for any information; please email me.
Sincerely,
Reiko Akiyoshi
Santa Cruz, CA