Mary Ann Tonkin
April 23, 1928 - November 10, 2021
Mary Ann Tonkin passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by her loving family on November 10th after gracing San Francisco with her presence for 93 years. Mary Ann created an abundance of memories with her family, her twin daughters Wendy Tonkin (Rich Cairns) and her sons Sean, Ryan, Josh, Jake & Robbie, and Jill TonkinFinegold (Jeff Finegold) and their son Ashton.
Mary Ann was a fourthgeneration San Franciscan as her great-grandfather, Joe Brandenstein, came to San Francisco during the gold rush at the age of 17 in 1850. Her father, Albert Lincoln Brown, was Chief of Staff at Mount Zion Hospital. Her mother, Ruth Bransten McDougall, was an author writing books on their family and the history of San Francisco. Mary Ann’s late brother, Mike Brown, piloted seaplanes and did search and rescue in Lake Tahoe & Alaska. Her late sister, Patricia Hamrick, was a prominent lawyer in Berkeley. Mary Ann’s grandfather, Mannie Brandenstein, joined his 3 brothers to build MJB Coffee in 1900.
As Mary Ann’s mother stated in her memoir ‘Coffee, Martinis and San Francisco’, “A girl growing up in San Francisco was not expected to participate in business or want to.” This wasn’t true of Ruth. It sure wasn’t true of Mary Ann either. Mary Ann attended Lowell High School and Mills College. Mary Ann led a remarkable life. She was one of the first women to start her own real estate company in San Francisco and became a savvy real estate investor with her late husband, Bert Tonkin. She was a pioneer for women in business.
Mary Ann was a prolific golfer with multiple Lake Merced and Silverado Country Club championships. She was one of the early female swimmers with the San Francisco Dolphin Club and an accomplished woodworker with pieces displayed in museums. She grew up summering in Lake Tahoe and was one of the first women to swim across it. There wasn’t much Mary Ann couldn’t do. She was a barefoot water skier and avid snow skier, a competitive tennis player, taught by Merv Griffin, and if you were lucky, you could catch her riding her vespa through the hills of San Francisco. She taught sports at the Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco, played the piano, was a gourmet cook and piloted her own airplane.
Mary Ann loved to travel. She and Bert were always on the go traveling the world with their close friends. When she was not traveling, she spent her time in San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and Napa with her beloved family enjoying cold martinis and caviar.
Mary Ann was very philanthropic, donating to many charities, including: the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation, Congregation Emanu-el, Anti-Defamation League, Contemporary Jewish Museum, American Cancer Society, UCSF Cancer Research Program, Women and Infant Center of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Chronicle Season of Sharing, San Francisco Legend of Honor, University of Oregon, League to Save Lake Tahoe and many others. She also loved attending and supporting the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera.
A memorial service will be held on November 23rd, at 6 p.m. at Congregation Emanu-el in San Francisco, with a reception following. COVID restrictions will apply. In Mary Ann’s honor, memorial contributions may be sent to your favorite charity or The League to Save Lake Tahoe (https:// www.keeptahoeblue.org).