Hermosa Beach Farmers’ Market maven Mary Lou Weiss dies at 75

Photo submitted by Susan Hillyer

Photo submitted by Susan Hillyer

Mary Lou Weiss, a formidable leader in the growth of local farmers markets, passed away at the age of 75.

She died Saturday morning after suffering a pulmonary embolism resulting in a heart attack at her Hermosa Beach home. Weeks before her death Weiss was in the hospital for a barrage of health issues.

On Thursday, she joyfully found out her son Brian’s wife was expecting a boy and his name would be Gunner.

“All she did on Thursday was call all her friends,” said Brian.

Weiss was best known in the community for her life-long dedication to the local farmers markets. She began her crusade for fresh local produce when she moved to Hermosa Beach with her husband Jim in the early ‘70s, eventually becoming the farmers’ market manager for the Recreations Service Department at the City of Torrance in 1991.

“She was born on her grandparents’ farm and grew up like that,” said Jim. “She raised chickens and went muskrat trapping and sold their pelts for 25 cents.”

She was born Mary Lou Haag on Jan. 27, 1938 in Canal Fulton, Ohio, to Viola, a homemaker, and Harold who worked at a foundry.

Her first husband of two years, Keith Tillapaw, passed away early in her life due to health issues. She met Jim, her husband of 41 years, while working at Eastern Airlines on the 19th floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange building.

“I walked in and she was a new employee,” Jim said. “She asked me a question and I thought, ‘Wow, this is someone I want to know.’ It just took her eight years to pin me down.”

In 1989 she was named Woman of the Year by the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce. She also served on the school board for 16 years starting in 1985 and even ran for city council. In May she was honored by Assembly member Al Muratsuchi as a Woman of Distinction for her extraordinary achievements and outstanding service to the community.

“All those things were second nature for her,” Jim said. “I consider her to be an optimist, nothing couldn’t be accomplished. I’m a pessimist, so we balanced each other out.”

Photo submitted by family

Photo submitted by family

Brian said that he has been in awe of all the people who have reached out to the family in the days after her passing.

“She impacted so many people,” Brian said. “I just wish I could live up even close to filling her shoes.”

Throughout her career she started farmers markets in the Peninsula, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Lawndale and Del Air as well as many others in L.A County. For 24 years she was in attendance almost every week at the Hermosa market.

“She was the best boss I ever had but I never worked for her,” Susan Hillyer, a farmers market volunteer and friend of over six years said. “She always found the best in each one of us, that’s why so many of us from so many walks in life gravitated to her.”

Along with serving locally, Weiss also served three terms on the State Farmers Market Advisory Committee, working on strengthening the legislation for farmers markets in California.

“She was a real mentor to other market managers and very involved locally and at a state level,” co-worker of 22 years Suzie Wand said. “She had an excellent sense of humor—she always loved a good joke, loved to hear a good joke, loved to tell a good joke. She was very warm and nurturing, almost like from a different time because she just really cared about people and really got to know people on a personal level and connected with just about everybody, that’s what made her different.”

For Weiss, working wasn’t just a job, Brian said.

“Going to the markets were her life completely,” he said. “She got to be in the public and see her friends and make new friends. Even at 75 she was up at 5 a.m. and up all day with a million different balls in the air. Yet, she was still able to make time for her family.”

“She named so many people as part of our family,” Jim said. “She was often the keeper of someone who was a lost cause, but she never gave up on anybody.”

In her free time she enjoyed gambling at Barona Casino in San Diego and collected stuffed animals. “The more automated they were, the better,” said Hillyer, adding that her collection numbers in the high 70s.

“She always did better than me [gambling], it was because of her optimistic attitude,” Jim said. “She’d always say, ‘Jim, you have to believe your going to win.’”

On New Years day, both Jim and Mary Lou hit the jackpot multiple times, and planned on using their winnings to travel after her retirement.

“She wanted to travel a lot but didn’t have a chance,” said Jim.

Brian added that even though she was a big winner, she would often give her winnings away. According to her husband, her New Years Eve winnings are yet to be accounted for.

“It’s no mystery to me [why she won],” Hillyer said. “This woman gives so naturally without any expectation of getting anything back.”

According to Jim, she also enjoyed bringing her two grandchildren to Disneyland.

“She liked to really make sure they enjoyed it as much and as often as she could,” said Jim.

“She loved her grandkids and was so proud of the way her sons turned out,” Hillyer said. “It meant a lot to her that they are both doing something of service.”

Hillyer said that her lifelong contributions to the local farmers markets will be her legacy.

“You go to the farmers markets now and you feel the vibe. It’s a mirror of the community, but really it was her leadership that the farmers and venders really followed,” Hillyer said. “…I’ll bet she’s very busy in heaven right now.”

A public funeral service for Weiss will be held this Sunday, June 30 at Rice Mortuary at 5310 Torrance Blvd, Torrance at 5 p.m.

She is survived by her husband Jim, an orchid nursery man; son Brian, a police officer with the Redondo Beach Police Department and his wife Amanda; son Steven, a firefighter in Kern County and his wife Rachelle; her sister Susan Burton; and two grandchildren Nikki, 8, and Jake, 6. ER

 

Comments:

comments so far. Comments posted to EasyReaderNews.com may be reprinted in the Easy Reader print edition, which is published each Thursday.