Mary Ellen Pike’s tastes in literature were varied, from Shakespeare to Dick Francis, from torrid murder mysteries to books on religious devotion.

A more than 40-year member of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church and a lifelong Southern Californian, Mrs. Pike died on June 17, 2009 at the age of 88. For more than 50 years, she was the wife of her life-companion, Martin Paul Pike Jr. who died in December, 1998. She was a loving mother to her 5 children, grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of six.

Born to Raymond J. and Snowdie Blanche Magee in their Rimpau Boulevard bungalow in Los Angeles on December 23, 1920, Mary Ellen and her 4 siblings grew up in the Hollywood Hills. She recalled horse-drawn wagons carrying ice and milk door-to-door in Los Angeles. In one of the short stories she wrote later in life, she recalled “gazing in wonder into the mysterious cool darkness of the ice wagon with its canvas-covered blocks of ice”. She also wrote of the Farmer’s Market at Third and Fairfax Avenue where in 1934, her parents opened one of the original stands and became the first to serve prepared meals. Over the years, Mary Ellen took her share of turns working at the family business, called Magee’s and served there as general manager in the 1980s.

After graduating from Hollywood High School in 1937, Mary Ellen went on to graduate from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1941. She began graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley, but left before completing her degree in social work. As part of the World War II effort, she was recruited to social work in the state of Washington. While in Berkeley living at the International House, she met Mr. Pike, then a member of the United States Navy and stationed on Treasure Island, on a blind date. The two were married on March 31, 1945 in the family home in the Hollywood Hills. They celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 1995.

Over the years she and Paul made homes for their family in Encino, San Marino, Claremont and La Verne. After residing in Claremont for a decade, they moved to La Verne in 1977 and became residents of Hillcrest Homes in 1996.

Mrs. Pike had many fond memories of the summers and weekends from childhood that she spent at the family’s cabin at Big Bear Lake, known affectionately as “Magee’s Shenanigan”. She delighted in sharing it with her own children and their many friends. In an essay she wrote in 1991, titled “Tripping Out on the Treadmill”, she shared her thoughts on “Shenanigan:”

During the years in Claremont and La Verne, Mrs. Pike and her husband led the teen religious education group at Our Lady of the Assumption for a number of years and Mrs. Pike served as a lector and a term as President of the Pomona Valley Churchwomen United.

Mrs. Pike is survived by her children: son Thomas Paul Pike of Albuquerque, New Mexico; daughter and son-in-law, Kathleen Mary and Howard Lowe of Vallecito, sons and daughters-in-law Timothy John and Peggy Pike of Highland and Terrance Raymond and Pam Pike of Redlands, daughter and son-in-law, Virginia Ellen and Marcus Kaufman of Santa Cruz; and by 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services for Mrs. Pike were held on June 25, 2009 at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Claremont, followed by a reception at Claremont United Church of Christ, Congregational.