Tessa Thomas (Menzies) Newsom (1946 - 2002)

Born 28 Nov 1946 in San Francisco, California, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William Alfred Newsom III — married 12 Sep 1966 (to Feb 1971) in San Francisco City, California, United States

Died 9 May 2002 at age 55 in San Francisco, California, United States

Biography

This profile is part of the Menzies Name Study.

Tessa (Menzies) Newsom is a member of Clan Menzies.

IDENTICAL TWIN, TESSA THOMAS MENZIES (Menzies-366)

PARENTS. Arthur Liddell Menzies & Jean Thorburn (Addis) Menzies

BIRTH. 28 Nov 1946, San Francisco, California, United States

BIRTH. 28 Nov 1946

Name Tessa Thomas Menzies

Event Type Birth

Event Date 28 Nov 1946

Event Place San Francisco, California, United States

Gender Female

Mother's Name Addis

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Menzies (Jean Addis) welcomed twin daughters on Thanksgiving morning at Stanford Hospital... the new arrivals will be names Anne and Tessa... they are granddaughters of the Kenneth Menzies of Los Angeles and Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Addis" ^[1]

MARRIAGE. 12 Sep 1966, San Francisco City, California, United States

MARRIAGE. 12 Sep 1966, William Alfred Newsom III, son of William A. Newsom II & Christine (Brennan) Newsom

MARRIAGE. 12 Sep 1966

Name William A Newsom

Event Type Marriage

Event Date 12 Sep 1966

Event Place San Francisco City, California

Gender Male

Age 32

Birth Year (Estimated) 1934

Spouse's Name Tessa T Menzies

Spouse's Age 19

Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1947

Children:

(1) Gavin Christopher Newsom, b. 10 Oct 1967, d. living, m (1). Dec 2001, Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle, daughter of Tony Guilfoyle & Mercedes (??) Guilfoyle, m (2). Jul 2008, Jennifer Lynn Siebel, daughter of Kenneth F. Siebel, Jr & Judy (Fritzer) Siebel

(2) Hilary Brook Newsom, b. 24 Dec 1968, d. living, m. 21 Apr 2001, Geoffrey E Callan, son of Unknown Callan & Unknown (Driscoll) Callan

SEPARATION/DIVORCE. Feb 1971, San Francisco, California, United States

DEATH. 9 May 2002, San Francisco, California, United States

DEATH. 9 May 2002

Age 56

Given Name Tessa

Middle Name T

Surname Newsom

Birth Date 28 Nov 1946

State California

Event Date 09 May 2002

(2002). DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT. NEWSOM, Tessa Thomas - In San Francisco on May 9, 2002, following a heroic battle with breast cancer. Mother of Hilary Newsom Callan and Gavin C. Newsom; loving sister of Anne Scherer and Cindy Asner; former wife and beloved friend of William A. Newsom; loving aunt of Jeremy Scherer, Michael Scherer, Robin Fink and David Scherer. Services will be held for the immediate family in Dutch Flat, California. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to The Ernest Rosenbaum M.D. Cancer Supporting Care Program, 1101 Welch Road, Suite A6, Palo Alto CA 94304. THE BUD DUGGAN FAMILY (650) 756-4500 (415) 587-4500

(2002). OBITUARY. Tessa Thomas Newsom, a businesswoman and mother of San Francisco Supervisor Gavin Newsom, died Thursday in her home in San Francisco after a long fight with breast cancer. She was 55.

A striking and energetic woman who counted antiques, knitting and needlepoint among her passions, Mrs. Newsom worked most recently as controller of PlumpJack Management Group, a string of cafes, wine shops and other Northern California businesses owned by her son.

"My mom would knit through a movie. She wouldn't sit still," said her daughter, Hilary Newsom Callan. "She worked seven days a week, even through her illness. It was pretty tremendous."

Mrs. Newsom and her identical twin sister, Anne, were born in San Francisco on Nov. 28, 1946. Her father, Arthur L. Menzies, was the assistant curator at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.

Her mother, Barbara Menzies, acted under the stage name of Jean T. Addis in the San Francisco Actor's Workshop. [This information is incorrect. Tessa Thomas (Menzies) Newsom's mother was Jean Thorburn Addis, who acted under the stage name of Trigger Addis in the San Francisco Actor's Workshop. Her father's second wife, Barbara (Thomson) (Sherfey) Menzies was her step-mother.]

As a teenager, Mrs. Newsom was a champion singles tennis player and graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco. She enrolled in Chico State College, but left at age 19 to wed William A. Newsom Jr., then a tax attorney for the family of J. Paul Getty.

The couple married in 1966, had son Gavin in 1967, and daughter Hilary in 1968. They filed for divorce in 1971, and Mrs. Newsom never remarried. While raising her two children, Mrs. Newsom worked as a legal secretary. She also enrolled as a part-time student at the University of San Francisco, eventually graduating with a bachelor's degree in social studies. It was one of her proudest accomplishments.

Mrs. Newsom worked as a real estate agent in Marin County. Later, she joined her son's PlumpJack enterprise, working her way up to the position of controller.

A natural athlete with an infectious smile, Mrs. Newsom balanced a host of activities with her work and home life. She was an avid reader and traveler who encouraged her children to study French and Italian.

An antique collector, Mrs. Newsom loved to travel to Europe, often in search of an unusual find.

"My mom loved a great hunt at a flea market, in Rome, Paris and London," Callan said. "She would find the most wonderful antiques."

Mrs. Newsom was found to have breast cancer nearly four years ago. The disease later spread to her liver. Although she was in failing health, she attended the weddings of both her children last year.

"She really did try to fight to survive," said her sister, Anne Scherer. "Tessa was very lucky to see them both married."

In addition to her daughter, son and twin sister, all of San Francisco, Mrs. Newsom is survived by another sister, Cindy Asner, of Studio City.

A private memorial service has been held.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Ernest Rosenbaum Cancer Supportive Care Program, Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine, 1101 Welch Road, Suite A6, Palo Alto, CA 94304, or to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund for Gerena Menzies that can be mailed c/o the PlumpJack Management Group, 3201 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA 92143. The fund can be phoned at (877) 339-7647 or reached online at www.charitablegift.org.

(2003). Interview with ex-husband William Alfred Newsom III about their son, Gavin Christopher Newsom:

After graduating from the University of San Francisco, Newsom attended Stanford law school and was admitted to the California Bar in 1962. He did a stint as legal adviser to the Italian division of Getty Oil and worked as a tax attorney for the Gettys.

At 32, the handsome lawyer was smitten by Tessa Menzies, then still in her teens. Married in 1967, the couple produced Gavin and a daughter, Hilary, before splitting after five years. "It was an Irish divorce," says the judge. "We remained friends, neither remarried." (Tessa died last year.)

Newsom blames the breakup of his marriage on politics. In 1968, he says, the Burton brothers and Willie Brown talked him into running against state Sen. Milton Marks, a popular Republican. Newsom lost.

"Tessa did not share my passion for politics," he says. "I wish I'd dropped out of the race. I watch Gavin -- I hope politics doesn't affect his marriage."

Sources

1. ↑ "Teazle's Tidbits", 3 Dec 1946, Oakland Tribune, page 8 : "Double Feature", accessed at "Gavin Newsom", by Will Johnson, professional genealogist copyright 2007-8, all rights reserved: https://sites.google.com/site/countyhistorian/gavin-newsom

• Birth: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VL5F-MLS

• Marriage: :https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V66B-FJ2

• Death: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGSD-36L

• (2002). Death Announcement: NEWSOM, Tessa Thomas, Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, May 14, 2002: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/NEWSOM-Tessa-Thomas-2836231.php

• (2002). Obituary: Tessa T. Newsom -- businesswoman, knitter, mother of supervisor, by Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writer Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, May 14, 2002: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tessa-T-Newsom-businesswoman-knitter-mother-2836378.php

• (2003). Interview: Bringing Up Baby Gavin: How William Newsom's pipeline into the Getty fortune has put money -- lots of it -- in his politically ambitious son's pocket, By Peter Byrne, Wednesday, Apr 2 2003, p2: