Who’s Who
Frank Gaik
as Officiant
Linda Palumbo
as Wendy’s Matron of Honor
Frank and Linda, retired English professors, reside in Long Beach, CA. Frank, a Wisconsin native, and Linda, who grew up in New Jersey, were doctoral students together at USC, the alma mater of both Wendy and Anika. Together, they authored Vocabulary for a New World, published by Prentice Hall, a book that was widely adopted – including by Toyota Motors in their executive training program, as well as by multiple colleges and universities. Frank’s poetry has been published in The Southern Review, The Hollins Critic, Cream City Review, Madison Review, Poetry Now, Sport Literate, and the Anthology of Magazine Verse and Yearbook of American Poetry. At Rutgers University, Linda was mentored by poet Adrienne Rich, whose emotional warmth and intellectual support changed Linda’s life. Adrienne encouraged Linda to move to California and put her in touch with feminist small-press publishers, whose work she cataloged in the late 1970’s. Her first book Casts of Thought: Writing In and Against Tradition was published by Macmillan in 1990 during her time teaching at Cerritos College. Linda was named the Cerritos College Outstanding Adviser repeatedly, as well as receiving the award for Outstanding Faculty, which she and Frank were awarded numerous times. Frank and Linda were central figures in Wendy’s educational journey and have provided love and support through the years. Both were extraordinary educators. Timothy Juntilla, a campus colleague, described Linda’s impact on her students this way: “I witnessed countless numbers of students who have entered her classroom and experienced a transformation of consciousness. In other words, her students are no longer mired in self-doubt – they leave her classroom as confident young scholars who are ready to tackle the challenges that they face in higher education.” Dr. Juntilla could very easily have been describing the transformative impact both Frank and Linda had on Wendy, and they have since become cherished, life-long mentors and friends to both Wendy and Abigail.
Anika Narayanan
as Abigail’s Maid of Honor
Anika Narayanan, Abigail’s only child, lives in Seattle, WA, where she is a technical product manager with Amazon Alexa. Before relocating to Seattle from Los Angeles, where she grew up and attended and graduated with honors from USC, she was employed as a voice user interface (VUI) designer on the Disney Imagineering team. During her time as a Disney Imagineer, she helped develop the personality for a hospitality droid to be deployed at the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel in Bay Lake, FL. Anika studied piano as a child, and continues to play. It’s hard to write a satisfying biography of Anika because one of the things that most distinguishes her is her unique and quirky personality, which you have to experience to fully appreciate. She was active in children’s theatre in LA, most memorably portraying Jesus in a production of “Godspell,” which also featured movie producer Judd Apatow’s daughter Maude. Anika was selected to speak at her graduation from Santa Monica High School, delivering a searing political call to action entitled “This is Our War.” Anika is a published poet who appeared twice as a guest on KUSP’s The Poetry Show, as well as in the 2017 season of Music in May, in which her spoken word composition accompanied the world premiere of “Music for Strings,” by TJ Cole. She is joined by partner Stephen Fitzgerald, who generously volunteered to play the important role of sound engineer for The Wedding™.
Barbara Ellis
as Abigail’s Mother
Barbara resides in Soquel, CA. She grew up in San Francisco and Menlo Park, and graduated with honors from Stanford University with a degree in European history. At Stanford, she took part in the university’s first study-abroad program, Stanford in Germany, which was based in Beutelsbach, a village near Stuttgart. Barbara is a talented painter, working mostly with acrylics on canvas. She is also a skilled, if exacting, writer and editor. Throughout her life, Barbara played the violin and viola in a variety of orchestras and ensembles, including the Stanford Symphony, where she met Abigail’s father, David Kaun. She encouraged Abigail to study the piano, and was sad when she quit taking lessons in her early teens. Fortunately, Anika has stuck with the piano into her young adulthood, and when she moved to Seattle, Barbara and John gave her a beautiful piano as a house-warming gift. At a Sierra Family Camp, when Barbara was three years old, she and her big sister Audrey took part in a Nature Quiz. The question: Can you name three animals that live here in the forest around us? Her answer: “Bears, deers…and giraffes!” Both girls won identical Awards of Merit, which infuriated Audrey. Today Barbara proudly displays the framed certificate on her wall. One of Abigail’s clearest memories of her relationship with her mom, Barbara, was receiving the following advice: Whatever you do in life, make sure that you are able to support yourself and make your way on your own. You may find a wonderful and supportive life partner (not the language of the 1980’s), but always be sure that you have the ability to stand on your own feet.
John Ellis
as Abigail’s Stepfather
John also resides in Soquel, CA. Born and raised in London, John attended London University, where his studies culminated in a PhD in German Literature in 1965. John took posts as a faculty member at the Universities of Wales, Leicester, and Alberta, and in 1966, a year after the campus opened, he came to UCSC. John served as dean of the Graduate Division from 1977-1986, and is now Professor Emeritus of Literature. He has authored 10 books, some of which have been translated into multiple languages. During WWII, John’s family moved from London to the Welsh countryside where his mechanical engineer father helped to run the largest munitions factory in Britain. The factory’s existence was a closely guarded secret, and john only found out about it ten years ago. His cousins all thought (and said) that his father had an easy life during the war, but none knew how dangerous his job had actually been. All 13,000 employees were searched daily so that no metal objects would be brought in. One day, the searchers missed some hairpins, and one fell on the ground and the spark caused an explosion, severely injuring several people. After the war, John was the under-14 chess champion of London in 1950 and the under-15 champion in 1951. Today, John is an informed and dedicated bird watcher, and an avid builder of bird nesting boxes, the designs of which are in use at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Monterey. John has been Abigail’s deeply trusted advisor, advocate, and confidant throughout her entire life. On the subject of “work-life balance” (not John’s term), he asked Abigail to consider the following question: When you are at the end of your life, what do you want surrounding you? All the books and papers you published, or family members and friends whom you love, and who love you. This question has helped Abigail and Wendy think about some of the most fundamental choices we make in life.
Josie Snyder
as Wendy’s Mother
Josie resides in Tucson, AZ, near the southern Arizona town where she grew up. Josie has two children, Wendy and James, two grandchildren, Hailey and Christopher, and two great-grandchildren, Kylie and Maddilyn. Josie had a long career as a small business owner in Long Beach, CA, where she owned a number of beauty salons, and later worked in real estate and as an educator in Washington state. Josie was the den mother for a troop of Cub Scouts that included Wendy and her brother Jamie (in the days before girls were officially allowed to be Cub Scouts). Wendy’s favorite memories of the Cub Scouts are her mom’s cherry cream cheese pie and the meeting when the troop leader made Wendy a recognized member of the troop. Upon retirement, Josie and her husband set out for a life on the road in their Phaeton class A motorhome. Their favorite places to visit were Red Bay, Alabama, to tour the factory where the motor coach had been built, and the beautiful Oregon coast. Josie lived with Wendy and Abigail for a number of years when they relocated to the Santa Cruz area, and provided companionship and support for Abigail’s dad as he began to need assistance.
Delano Eleanor
as the Doodle of Honor
Delano Eleanor is a shorter-than-average, two year old mini goldendoodle (50% golden retriever, 35% poodle, 15% bichon frisée). She enjoys removing the shoelaces and insoles from shoes, tearing up junk mail, all forms of human food, and barking at passers-by. In the Stanford UIT newsletter, Delano was named pet of the month and was interviewed for the news story, which reported the following: “Nicknamed the Sheriff of Lower Escalona, Delano Eleanor strolls to the deck overlooking Escalona Drive. ‘The ‘Sheriff’ label is a bit extreme,” noted Delano Eleanor. “I bark at everyone and every dog that passes because I want them to know I’m there…and I’m the boss.’” Born in Palisades Tahoe, she was the sole white puppy in a predominantly caramel-colored litter of eight. Her circle of friends includes Artemis, Mary, and Tippi, as well as doodle neighbors Molly, Sadie, Teddy, Miles Davis, and new puppy Nestor Vantalon, across the street.
Julie Atkinson
as Flower Girl/Ring Bearerr
Julie lives in Redwood City, CA. A very dear friend of Abigail’s since high school, Julie has worked in the TV advertising industry and as an educator. Educated in California and in England, Julie took part in the theatrical group CuLeS (Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society) that included Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, among its members during her time there. Julie’s family took Abigail on her first and only ski trip, which involved one – or possibly two – runs down a bunny slope, followed by a long stint in the lodge drinking hot cocoa. At Santa Cruz High School, Julie movingly portrayed Anne in “The Diary of Anne Frank” – Abigail played her mother. Julie is accompanied by her husband Joel, and her son Isaac, who shares a birthday with Abigail.
Andrea Marcum
as Flower Girl
Andrea, a dear friend of Abigail’s since elementary school, now lives in Santa Cruz, CA following a very successful career as a yoga professional in Los Angeles. She owned her own studio in the Miracle Mile neighborhood for many years, serving a broad clientele that included many Hollywood A-listers, and now provides all of the creative content and classes for the Online platform Andrea Marcum Yoga. She leads yoga retreats all around the world, most recently in Guatemala. Andrea is the author of Close to Om, published by St. Martin Griffin Press, and her articles have appeared in Yoga Magazine, Yoga Journal, and many more outlets. Andrea starred as Mama Rose in the Santa Cruz High School production of “Gypsy”, in which Abigail had been cast to share the role of Louise, but stepped down over creative differences with the other Louise. Andrea, Abigail, and Addie played for the (0-15) Rainbows in the Santa Cruz Parks and Rec girls softball league. Andrea is accompanied by Asunción (Chon) Torrez.
Addie Hilgard
as Flower Girl/Choreographer
Addie lives in Santa Cruz, CA. A very close friend of Abigail’s since they were students at Johnny Crow’s Garden nursery school, Addie is an attorney with the San Francisco law firm Reed Smith. Before law school, Addie spent several years in New York as a professional dancer with Carol Fonda & Company. In fifth grade, Addie and Abigail starred in a production of “A Christmas Carol”, with Addie as Bob Cratchett and Abigail in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Addie stole the show as Baby June in the Santa Cruz High School production of “Gypsy”. Addie’s mom Galen, a painter and marine biologist, took Addie, Abigail, and friends on a wonderful trip to learn about local tide pools which Abigail still recalls vividly. Addie and her husband Kyle have graciously made their beautiful home available for The Wedding™. Special thanks to their beautiful children Josie and Kellen, who are playing key roles in the festivities.
Rachel Ruby
as Flower Girl
Rachel resides in Santa Cruz, California where she is a nurse practitioner for Sutter Health. She is currently building Starboard Legal Nurse Consulting, which serves attorneys in malpractice cases involving nurse practitioners. Rachel holds degrees in nursing and in public health from Yale University, her time at Yale having overlapped with Abigail’s time on the linguistics faculty there. Rachel has worked in a variety of community health clinics throughout her career, including driving the mobile wellness clinic for Dominican Hospital for 12 years. Before training in healthcare, she worked overseas teaching in Indonesia and Hungary, and she and the other flower girls traveled extensively together over the years. Rachel’s family took Abigail on her first and only sailing trip, during which Abigail never did figure out how to operate the sails. Rachel and Abigail competed in doubles beach volleyball under the team name “Rubicon,” and in all of the Santa Cruz High School musicals mentioned above, Rachel was in the orchestra pit playing the flute. Rachel is accompanied by her mother Dorothy, husband Andy, and her beautiful children Hannah and Tristan, both of whom have contributed to The Wedding™ festivities.
David Kaun
as Abigail’s Father
Abigail’s father, David, is deeply missed this week. He loved and appreciated Wendy from the beginning, and became very attached to Josie (Wendy’s mom) during the time she lived here. To Abigail’s grandmother Sara and great aunt Carmen, David, whom they called Davala, could do no wrong. He held a PhD in Economics from Stanford University, and had posts at the Brookings Institution, the University of Pittsburgh, and ultimately at UC Santa Cruz, where he was an outspoken supporter of the students who lobbied for the Banana Slug to become the school’s mascot. He was a talented and skilled amateur clarinetist, and played with a variety of ensembles and orchestras throughout much of his life. For a number of years, he found great joy playing music every week with our dear friend, pianist Anne Lober. He was a generous philanthropist, supporting many organizations in the Santa Cruz area including (but far from limited to) Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the UCSC African American Theatre Arts Troupe, the Honor Band at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, and the Cabrillo Music Festival. In 2010, he received the Gail Rich Award, which “recognizes select individuals who inspire our diverse and culturally-rich community.” David was a co-founder of Music in May with violinist Rebecca Jackson-Picht, and Abigail now serves on the Music in May advisory board. Abigail and Wendy find great inspiration in David’s philanthropy, and are trying to the best of their ability to follow in his very large footsteps. David would have loved celebrating with this wonderful group of family and friends, and would certainly have insisted on playing the clarinet for everyone.