Leni LaMarche

Content type
Collection

Lenora "Leni" LaMarche

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Lenora LaMarche on May 24 and June 25, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. LaMarche shares her family history, Sephardic culture, and experiences growing up in the Seattle and Los Angeles Jewish communities, highlighting her education, comedic talents, work during World War II, raising a family, and involvement in various organizations.

Leni LaMarche

A gifted student, teacher, and comedienne, Leni LaMarche has shared her love of Sephardic culture with Seattle’s Sephardic community for over sixty years. Born in Seattle to immigrants from the island of Rhodes, Greece, Leni has lived most of her life in Seattle. She has one daughter from a first marriage, and after several challenging years as a single mother during the early 1940s, Leni remarried and had three sons. While raising her family, Leni engaged in a variety of paid and volunteer work. Leni also writes a column entitled Bavajadas de Benadam [people’s foolish little words] for her synagogue’s newsletter. Leni is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to Sephardic history, language, and customs, and laces her wisdom and stories with delightful humor.

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