Catharine Brent Hord Malarkey

Brent Hord Malarkey Birth 25 Oct 1935 Cook County, Illinois died Dec 22, 2020

Catharine Brent Hord Malarkey of San Francisco, passed away peacefully due to complications from COVID-19 on December 22, 2020. She was 85.

Brent was born in 1935 in Chicago, to parents Stephen Young Hord and Catharine Norcross Hord.

She and her two older brothers, Stephen Young Hord and Frederic Norcross Hord, grew up in nearby Lake Forest, Ill., and the family spent summers in Culver at the Hord cottage on East Shore Drive.

She attended Garrison Forest School in Baltimore, MD and Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where she majored in art history and Italian.

While working in Chicago at the Institute for International Education, she met and married Thomas Burgess Malarkey, Jr. from Portland, Ore., who worked for Pacific Lumber Company.

they moved with their three children to San Francisco, Calif. in 1970, where Brent and Tom raised their family and created a rich life full of activity and adventure. Brent and Tom were avid sports people, and together pursued tennis, hiking, fly fishing, birding and skiing. The Malarkey household was a warm hub of activity, dinners, parties, games, and music that served as a haven for many.

Brent loved the arts and was a regular at the San Francisco Ballet, ACT, Berkeley Repertory Theater and Ashland's Shakespeare Festival. She was also a natural on stage and spent many treasured years performing as a member of Children's Theater and the Songbirds acapella group.

A passionate naturalist, Brent loved hiking and had a knack for spotting birds and creatures of all sorts. At Lake Maxinkuckee, she loved to sail, catch soft-shelled turtles, and walk around the lake.

After Tom passed away, she bought a house in Inverness, Calif. and made a second home there. She loved to see the world and in later life struck out to explore India, Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Galapagos Islands and Alaska. She never tired of seeing new places or learning new things. Her house was filled with books. She loved the daily crossword. And she was a die-hard 49ers and Warriors fan.

Brent will be remembered for her irreverent sense of humor, fierce sense of adventure, wicked competitive spirit, and forthright charm. She demanded active conversation and never hesitated to speak her mind. She was often described as a "formidable" presence, and put many a guest on the hotseat with her direct questions and sharp curiosity. She was also kind, supportive and loyal to her many friends and family, who adored her.

Brent is survived by her three children, Thomas Wrenn Malarkey (Nicole Newnham) of Oakland, Calif., Catharine Tucker Malarkey of Berkeley, Calif., and Sarah Malarkey (Jonathan Kaplan) of San Francisco, Calif., as well as her five grandchildren, Tobias and Jacob Kaplan; Elliott Becker; Finian and Blaine Malarkey.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Stephen Young Hord and Catharine Norcross Hord, and her two brothers, Stephen and Frederic.

There are no plans yet for a memorial during the pandemic, but a gathering of family and friends will happen as soo n as we are able.

To make a contribution in her honor, please go to "Get Involved" https://www.nps.gov/getinvolved/ donate. htm -- San Francisco Chronicle Jan. 26 to Jan. 31, 2021

m. Thomas Burgess Malarkey Jr of San Fransico, California born nov 1928 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, died 23 Feb 1992 in San Francisco, California son of Thomas Burgess Malarkey & Susan Tucker

They had:

Thomas Wrenn Malarkey
Catharine Tucker Malarkey
Sarah Malarkey