Mabel Duncan — an Appreciation
By Michele Zack
Mabel Duncan, AH Board Member from 2009-14, died last month at her home on Los Flores Drive. She will be missed as a beloved member of a noted local family, dear friend, and long-time professor of US Government and Economics at PCC.
We met as Altadena Town Council members; after five or six years of service, we migrated over to Altadena Heritage’s board—which we agreed was more fun! Mabel was secretary and volunteered for everything, but I most cherish the memory of her as boon companion on Costco runs. We must have done a dozen of these to “fill out” AH’s huge party buffets where homemade fare dominated in those days: Thai and Indian curries, roasted turkeys, hams, salads, and cucumber sandwiches were complemented by a copious array of Costco-sourced cheese, profiteroles (mini creampuffs), and gooey cakes. Gauging how much 100-200 could eat is always tricky, but we never ran out of food.
Inveterately cheerful, Mabel always offered to drive, picking me up in one stylish car or another — usually a new BMW with a huge trunk provided by her grandson Tony.
She was an excellent driver through her 80s, but coy about her age. Her mother’s words had stuck with her: “a woman who tells you her age will say anything!” We approached the Los Feliz Costco with military precision, arriving at opening bell, and trying to beat our previous time. Conversation on the drives there and back was always the best part, and when I learned of her extraordinary life.
Mabel came from a family of 13 children; her father was an Irishman from the Bahamas, and her mother an African American. Their mixed marriage was unusual at a time when Pasadena was segregated —she remembers the Brookside plunge was open to her and siblings only one day a week, and they had to sit in the balconies of movie theaters.
In spite of obstacles, most of the Duncan kids made it to college and had notable careers. Arthur became famous — a tap dancer and first African American regular performer on television in 1954 (the Betty White show), followed by 18 years with Lawrence Welk. Mabel earned a BA in speech pathology, then went back in her 40s to earn a masters degree in planning on a Ford Foundation Scholarship at USC when she became a single mother.
She volunteered in many organizations and was particularly proud when a group she was involved with provided Misty Copeland with a scholarship before she joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and made history as Black Female Principal Dancer in 2007.
Her entire family was honored in Pasadena Museum of History’s 2009 “Family Stories” program, chosen as one of six minority families to represent the city’s racially diverse, ethnic history. Brad Macneil, co-curator, remembers the museum held an open call to find families with “inspiring stories and good stuff” to create the exhibition. “The Duncans were amazing, there were so many siblings, all with community success stories — businessmen, bankers, military men, educators, a pioneering fire-fighter, and an entertainer. They presented their story with heirlooms and artifacts including remarkable images portraying them with celebrities and politicians. They had style!”
We will all miss Mabel’s many talents, good nature, and wise heart — and I never enter Costco without thinking of her.