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| Mevrouw Lawton Filer, 1926. |
Op 1 maart 1902 werd Lawton Filer in Salt Lake City, Utah geboren als enige dochter en kind van Walter George Filer (1870-1943), een mijningenieur, en zijn vrouw Esther Freed (1878-1967). De Filers verhuisden kort na de geboorte van hun dochter naar Californië. Lawton Filer volgde onderwijs bij Miss Shimm's in San Mateo en ging daarna naar Miss Spence's finishing school in New York City.
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| Mevrouw Lawton Filer, 1921. |
In 1916 bevatte Goodwin's Weekly of Salt Lake City (Volume 27, 17 juni 1916, p.9) het volgende: " Nadat ze de winter een aantal jaren in deze staat hadden doorgebracht, zijn de heer en mevrouw Walter Filer tot de conclusie gekomen dat Californië de ideale plek is, en om dat te bewijzen hebben ze de woning van George A. Newell gekocht op het landgoed Newell bij Burlingame. De heer en mevrouw Filer zijn bezig met het uitzoeken van de inrichting van hun huis en verwachten er begin van de herfst in te trekken. De Filers hebben één kind, Miss Lawton Filer, een prachtig jong meisje, dat over een aantal seizoenen haar debuut zal maken. " De Filers werden lid van de sociale kring van San Francisco. Mevrouw Filer en Miss Lawton Filer gingen in het weekend naar Lake Tahoe, bezochten verkleedfeesten in de stad en mengden zich met andere welgestelde namen uit San Francisco tijdens diners in het St. Francis Hotel op Union Square. In augustus 1918 organiseerde Esther Filer een dansfeest voor haar dochter en vrienden in de La Cumbre County Club in Santa Barbara. In 1921 nam Lawton Filer haar plaats in als debutante van het seizoen. In oktober 1924 was Lawton Filer bruidsmeisje op de bruiloft van James Athearn Folger III (van Folgers Coffee) en Jane Carrigan, die plaatsvond in de St. Mary's Cathedral op California en Grant.
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| Graaf Degenhard von Wurmbrand-Stuppach. |
Lawton Filer’s marital stakes were cemented during a 1925 trip to Europe with her mother. Esther and Lawton made their headquarters in Paris; from this base, mother and daughter spent a good deal of time in Rome and on the French Riviera. The Filers then made their way to Vienna. While in the Austrian capital, Lawton made the acquaintance of Count Degenhard von Wurmbrand-Stuppach. Born on 17 July 1893 at Schloß Krummnußbaum, Count Degenhard Gundaccar Adolf Maria von Wurmbrand-Stuppach was the second child and eldest son and heir of Count Wilhelm von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1862-1927) and Margarethe von Schenk (1872-1957). The engagement between Count Degenhard von Wurmbrand-Stuppach and Miss Lawton Filer was announced from Vienna in April 1926.
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| Countess Lawton von Wurmbrand-Stuppach, mid-1930s. |
Lawton and Degenhard’s romance must have been a whirlwind. A month after their engagement, the couple were married in Paris on 15 May 1926. They divided their time between the Wurmbrand estate in Vienna and the family’s apartment in Paris. The count and countess traveled to New York City in December 1926 in order to spend the Christmas holidays with Mr. and Mrs. Filer. The Wurmbrand pair settled in New York City in January 1927. On 11 April 1927 in the Big Apple, Lawton gave birth to Countess Leonora “Lori” Huberta Maria von Wurmbrand-Stuppach, who would be Lawton and Degenhard’s only child. In September 1927, Degenhard and Lawton spent a spell in Burgliname, where they were hosted by the Filers and entertained by the family’s friends. In January 1931, the Wurmbrand-Stuppachs moved to San Francisco with their daughter.
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| Countess Lawton von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (née Filer) and Herbert Fleishhacker. |
On 10 December 1935, Count Degenhard and Countess Lawton von Wurmbrand-Stuppach were divorced in Reno, Nevada. Custody of their eight year-old daughter Leonora and property rights were settled out of court. Lawton Filer von Wurmbrand-Stuppach married San Francisco banker Herbert J. Fleishhacker Jr. (1907-1968) on 20 March 1936 in the Filer residence at Burlingame. The bride carried an orchid bouquet and wore “pale shell pink lace and chiffon” in a “filmy creation with a full skirt and cape sleeves.” The groom was a Stanford graduate who stood 6 feet 4 inches tall. Superior Judge Timothy Fitzpatrick performed the service at high noon, which was followed by a wedding breakfast. Afterwards, the newlyweds motored to Palm Springs for their honeymoon. After returning to the city, they took up an apartment on Green Street.
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| Walter George Filer. |
On 3 April 1943, Walter G. Filer passed away in San Mateo. Having became a successful businessman, Mr. Filer left 1/2 of his assets to his widow; the other half of the estate went to his only child Lawton. Lawton Filer Wurmbrand Fleishhacker’s mother Esther Freed Filer died on 13 July 1967. The estate of Mrs. Filer was worth $2.5 million at the time. Esther bequeathed 1/3 of her assets to her granddaughter Leonora as well as Leonora’s three children: Therese, Paul, and Albert. The remainder went to Esther’s daughter Lawton.
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| Countess Leonora von Wurmbrand-Stuppach and Robert Folger Miller, 1947. |
Lawton’s only child Countess Lori von Wurmbrand-Stuppach wed Robert “Bob” Folger Miller on 9 August 1947 at St. Catherine’s Church in Burlingame. Lori had attended Vassar and studied at Radcliffe College. Bob was the son of Robert Watt Miller (1899-1970) and Elizabeth Jane Folger (1898-1994). After their marriage, Lori and Bob Miller lived in Boston, where Bob was completing his studies at Harvard University. The couple had three children: Therese Marie Miller (b.1949), Paul Michael Miller (b.1950), and Albert “Albie” Watt Miller (1951-1974). In 1963, the Millers moved to Europe; their daughter Therese was enrolled in a French school and their sons attended a Swiss school. Alas, all was not well in the Miller marriage. In October 1964, the Robert Folger Millers were divorced; Lori charged Bob with extreme mental cruelty. The couple shared joint custody of their three children.
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| Countess Leonora von Wurmbrand-Stuppach. |
Lori Wurmbrand-Stuppach Miller was not to remain single for long. On 21 December 1965, she married Thomas-Alfred “Tommy” Wertheimer Edler von Wertheimstein at the Chelsea Registrar’s Office in London. The couple’s witnesses were Lord Ashcombe and Kelpie Buchanan. Lori’s ex-husband Bob Miller had remarried the month prior, in November 1965, to family friend Maryon McGuire Funsten in Carson City. Lori and Tommy Wertheimer honeymooned at Gstaad; Bob and Maryon Miller were vacationing on the Swiss Alps at the same time with Lori and Bob’s three children.
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| Herbert J. Fleishhacker Jr. |
Een jaar na de dood van haar moeder werd Lawton weduwe toen haar man Herbert Fleishhacker Jr. op 18 december 1968 overleed. Herbert kreeg een hartaanval tijdens eendenjacht in de buurt van Maryville, Californië. De heer Fleishhacker had een enorm succesvolle zakencarrière; hij was opgeklommen tot vice-president van Crocker-Anglo National Bank. Vanuit het appartement in San Francisco waar hij en Lawton hun huwelijksleven waren begonnen, was het stel verhuisd naar een landhuis op 15 Woodgate Court in Hillsborough. De Fleishhackers hadden ook een huis in Oregon, waar ze zich overgaven aan hun wederzijdse liefde voor vissen. Herbert en Lawton vlogen regelmatig naar Alaska, waar Herbert kon genieten van zijn passie voor de jacht op groot wild. Lawton en Herbert hadden geen kinderen.
De 96-jarige mevrouw Lawton Filer Wurmbrand Fleishhacker overleed op 30 december 1998 in Hillsborough, Californië. Ze werd begraven naast haar man Herbert in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma.
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