AMELIA

One of the first people I met when I moved to Balboa Island was Amelia. We lived on the same street - Topaz Avenue. I will never forget when Jim Jennings first drove me to meet Mr. Kelly, my landlord, on Topaz. It was in the evening and the lights had just come on across the bay at the Pavilion. Jim said, "living here you should have no trouble attracting a new man in your life." Eventually he was right. And hopefully it wasn't because of the atmosphere of the street. But that is another story.
Amelia and her friends used to go out at night and have fun. One of her friends, Lana Chandler, had a daughter Ashley who had amazing Shirley Temple curls!! I used to babysit Ashley while Lana and Amelia went out. Ashley was about two years old at the time. It is a testament to the passage of time that when I Googled Ashley recently I found she was attending the UC Davis, was 6' tall with straight hair and was a star water polo player!!! How time flies when you are having fun.
But back to the subject at hand - Amelia. Every story on the Island has a million side stories. My mind has a hard time staying on just one.
Amelia passed away in January. She had been ill for a long time. I used to see her walking every day on the boardwalk, but it had been a couple of years since I had recognized her smiling face among the moms, baby strollers, other walkers and runners.
Her funeral service was at St. Andrews followed by a party - and that is the best way to explain it - at Harborside Restaurant in the banquet room. Amelia owned Amelia's restaurant here on Balboa Island (which is still listed on www.balboa-island.com) because she loved to feed people and entertain. This event was a tribute to those characteristics. The food was fabulous. Actually, it turned out one of the cooks had worked for Amelia earlier in his career. The people who knew and loved her were there. Family, neighbors and close friends.
Amelia's son and photographer, Randy Seton, had put together an awesome picture story of her life on a big screen tv in one corner of the room. A wonderful picture of her and her husband was next to the tv. We all stood and commented on how happy Amelia looked in all her pictures. How her personality shone through.
However, the most inventive part of the whole experience were the centerpieces. They were designed by her good friend Janet Curci from only edible parts - several types of greens, oranges, tangerines, grapes, and peppers. At the end of the event we all got brown paper sacks to take home - "doggy bags" if you will. No one left without a reminder of Amelia's hospitality. I know as I ate the grapes and tangerines and romaine lettuce over the next week I thought about what a wonderful, warm and thoughtful person Amelia was.