RON HENGGELER

March 17, 2023
Remembering Mérí Jaye

with a gallimaufry of photos

Saying goodbye to my dear friend Mrs. Mérí Jaye

(Excerpt from the obituary written by Paul Fees)

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln

Mrs. Jaye

December 15, 1920 – March 13, 2023

Mrs. Jaye in her office at home.

2012

A new rosebud in Mrs. Jaye's backyard rose garden

Mrs. Jaye and sculptor Rodney Winfield

At Grace Cathedral for the 2006 dedication of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. 

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

Mérí Jaye and Merle Greene Robertson

2006

My photo of a colored-pencil drawing of Mérí Jaye

by Christos Simatos

Paris 1956

A Hibiscus blossom in Mrs. Jaye's front yard/patio

2022

The S.S. President Cleveland

San Francisco-based American President Lines.

My photo of a photo

Mérí Jaye

date unknown

Detail of "The Door" It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. "The Door" hangs in the north hallway near the main altar of Grace Cathedral.

The bark of Mrs. Jaye's pear tree

Front patio on Lombard

Mrs. Jaye in her backyard near the base of her 85ft. redwood tree

2012

Azalea in Mérí's backyard

A special Mass in Grace Cathedral dedicating and consecrating "The Brotherhood of Man".

2006

My parents Don & Mary Ann Henggeler with Mrs. Jaye at the Big 4 Restaurant

2003

Mrs. Jaye & Rodney Winfield with the Director of the Bancroft Library Charles B. Faulhaber

A special Mass in Grace Cathedral dedicating and consecrating "The Brotherhood of Man".

2006

A rose in Mrs. Jaye's backyard rose garden

Mrs. Jaye & Rodney Winfield at Grace Cathedral

For the 2006 dedication of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Grace Cathedral

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Meri Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. 

Mrs. Jaye & Rodney Winfield at Grace Cathedral

For the 2006 dedication of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Mrs. Jaye with her attorney Matthew Gluck at San Francisco City Hall fighting to save her redwood tree.

2017

A view of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill as seen from Mrs. Jaye's rooftop.

2021

Mrs. Jaye watching the birds

2021

All business in the office of Mrs. Mérí Jaye and Associates

2012

Mérí Jaye and Associates worked on designing interiors for the San Francisco-based American President Lines.

In 2014, Mrs. Jaye, David, and I, visited the historic Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland

Mrs. Jaye is inside the Chapel of the Chimes that was designed by Julia Morgan in 1909.

Mrs. Jaye with her attorney Matthew Gluck at a hearing in City Hall hoping to have her redwood tree given landmark status.

2017

The backyard garden and archway to the patio

2012

"The Brotherhood of Man"

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. 

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

My photo of a photo of younger Mérí Jaye

date unknown

The view of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill from Mrs. Jaye's front door and patio

Detail of "The Door" It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. "The Door" hangs in the north hallway near the main altar of Grace Cathedral.

Mrs. Jaye, Hervé Duprez, and Roland Jadryev at the Big 4 Restaurant in the Huntington Hotel.

The Big 4 celebrated its 40 year Anniversary in 2016

The backyard garden

Mrs. Jaye's pride and joy

Mérí Jaye

2003

Grace Cathedral during the the 2006 dedication Mass of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Grace Cathedral during the the 2006 dedication Mass of "The Brotherhood of Man"

“The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. 

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

The base of the redwood tree in Mrs. Jaye's backyard garden

2012

Mrs. Jaye was a great admirer of Dr. Jane Goodall. Of all the photos of Jane that I've taken, this was Meri's favorite. I gifted Mérí a large print of this portrait of Jane.

Mrs. Jaye in her backyard garden

2012

Mrs. Jaye with her attorney Matthew Gluck after the hearing in City Hall, when she was fighting to have her redwood tree given landmark status.

2017

"The Brotherhood of Man" in Grace Cathedral

Mrs. Jaye at a hearing in City Hall hoping to have her redwood tree given landmark status.

2017

My photo of a framed photo of young Mrs. Jaye

date unknown

Mrs. Jaye's weather vane on her rooftop

Detail of "The Door" It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. "The Door" hangs in the north hallway near the main altar of Grace Cathedral.

Mérí in her backyard garden

2012

Merle Greene Robertson and Mérí Jaye

2006

Mérí loved roses

this one in her backyard

The faucet in her backyard garden

Mrs. Jaye and sculptor Rodney Winfield

At Grace cathedral for the 2006 dedication of "The Brotherhood of Man"

Her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. 

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

Rodney Winfield and his family with Mrs. Jaye at Grace Cathedral in 2006

A view of Alcatraz from Mrs. Jaye's picture window and balcony overlooking her backyard garden

My photo of a photo from an album in Mérí's living room

date unknown

Mrs. Jaye's house on Lombard at Montclair

At City Hall after the hearing to have her redwood tree given landmark status.

2017

City Hall

2017

Mrs. Jaye napping in her office

2018

Mrs. Jaye's rooftop and weathervane seen from the top of Lombard at Hyde

At City Hall after the hearing to have her redwood tree given landmark status.

2017

Mrs. Jaye in the warming sunshine

2022

Mrs. Jaye, Hervé Duprez, and Roland Jadryev at the Big 4 Restaurant in the Huntington Hotel.

The Big 4 celebrated its 40 year Anniversary in 2016

A rose from her garden in the backyard

2019

A view of the Transamerica as seen from Mérí Jaye's rooftop

In the mid-1950s she moved to San Francisco to do interior design and soon turned to a new challenge, re-imagining crew and passenger comfort for a class of cargo ships built for and operated by San Francisco-based American President Lines.

(From the Obituary written by Paul Fees)

David and Mrs. Jaye during a visit to the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. After our visit to the cemetery, we had dinner at the historic Claremont.

a garden view

A rose in Mrs. Jaye's backyard garden

her roses were a pride and joy

A view of Telegraph Hill from Mrs. Jaye's front steps

Mrs. Jaye & Rodney Winfield at Grace Cathedral

After the 2006 dedication Mass of "The Brotherhood of Man"

The weathervane on Mrs. Jaye's roof

A view from Mrs. Jaye's balcony of the Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brian

Mérí Jaye's house and the redwood tree

Detail of "The Door" It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. "The Door" hangs in the north hallway near the main altar of Grace Cathedral.

Mérí Jaye

December 15, 1920 – March 13, 2023

Obituary written by Paul Fees

In the mid-1950s she moved to San Francisco to do interior design and soon turned to a new challenge, re-imagining crew and passenger comfort for a class of cargo ships built for and operated by San Francisco-based American President Lines. The innovative head of APL, Ralph K. Davies, had already excelled at three careers in oil and government when in 1952 he acquired the struggling steamship company. In 1956 he retained Mrs. Jaye as an interior designer to redecorate APL’s corporate headquarters. Recognizing the way she could help revolutionize the passenger’s image of the “tramp steamer,” he urged Mrs. Jaye to work with partners to organize a business entity capable of taking on large-scale projects. As he sought to expand APL’s reach and its role in the industry, Davies took a chance in the male-dominated field to employ the vision and skills of Mérí Jaye and Associates to redefine the interiors of the cargo freighter for the 1960s and the future. Mrs. Jaye worked alongside APL’s naval architects as the new class of “Seamaster” cargoliners, “the largest and fastest cargo ships under any flag” according to Business Digest, were built in shipyards at Pascagoula, Mississippi, and at San Diego and Seattle. 

The President Van Buren, launched in 1967, was the first of a four-ship contract. Mrs. Jaye took the unusual step of deeply researching the life and times of the 8th president in order to bring a sense of historical authenticity into her designs, a process she followed for each subsequent addition to APL’s fleet. Never far from a book, she built a library of works on maritime history and the culture of seafaring as well as a notable collection of artworks, ship models, scrimshaw, and other artifacts related to the projects she worked on. For a series of ships commissioned by American Mail Lines for Asian commerce, Mrs. Jaye created passenger quarters and public spaces incorporating antique Chinese screens and other relevant objets d’art. One of her last maritime design projects in the 1980s for Delta Cruise Lines gave the same distinction to the San Francisco-based company’s South American shipping. Already by 1962 Mérí Jaye and Associates had a large creative presence in offices and studios on San Francisco’s Pier 39 on the Embarcadero, and Mrs. Jaye herself began to occupy a growing creative presence in the San Francisco Bay Area cultural scene as a patron of musicians, artists, and writers. Though her persona could seem flawlessly glamorous and dauntingly formal, her friends remember her warmth and wit and her generosity of spirit. One of her closest associates described her as a “big romantic, in love with love.”

Mérí Jaye was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 15, 1920, the second daughter of Edna Marion Stuckey and Olin Jaye. Her father’s principal business was in oil field supply, but he also traded in petroleum futures and oil field leases and took the family to Argentina for a venture in the late 1920s. In the early 1930s Olin and Marion divorced, and Marion moved with her daughters, June and Mérí, to San Antonio. There Mérí was blessed, she said, to be accepted into the Sacred Heart Academy where the nuns emphasized rigorous scholarship while encouraging her to explore and develop her artistic talents. As a scholarship student, she helped earn her keep by doing things she loved: tutoring younger pupils in language arts, and in singing for religious services and assemblies. In fact, she seemed at first destined for a career in music when at 19 she was hired to sing for Henry King’s Dance Band in San Antonio and Dallas. In 1941 she appeared as the “new girl singer” with the famous Mack Rogers who gave her star billing as “The Lovely Mérí Jaye” when his popular dance orchestra and jazz band toured Texas and the Southwest. In Mexico City her dancing skills led her to a new career as a model. Modeling in turn gave her entrée to the world of fashion design. Coursework at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and later at schools in Rome, Madrid, and Paris grounded her in the historical dimensions of her art and the techniques of interior design. 

As opportunities shrank during the Second World War, Mérí Jaye worked as an assistant to her father in his oil company, a position which not only helped her make ends meet but allowed her to expand her range of business contacts in the U.S. and Mexico. After the War she returned full-time to Mexico City and launched Mérí Jaye Creaciónes, S.A.. designing, manufacturing, and marketing shoes, handbags, and other leather fashion accessories. She built a boutique in Mexico City’s fashionable downtown and then opened several other retail outlets, controlling all aspects of construction, staffing, inventory, purchasing, and merchandising. At the time, Mexico City was a playground for Hollywood and the nascent post-War international “jet set.” Mérí Jaye’s growing presence in their fashion world led her to collaborations with airlines, department stores, and hotels in design and marketing. In 1950 she helped put together an arts and fashion look for the debut of the upscale magazine Vox and then produced some of the first fashion shows for Mexican television.

By the early 1950s, she had taken on design and marketing projects in Europe and the United States for clients ranging from Nina Ricci to Air France. For almost a decade she lived and received her mail in hotels in Europe and New York. With the commission to adapt the interiors of San Francisco’s International Building to be the headquarters for American President Lines, Mrs. Jaye found a home.

In 1962 she purchased one of the oldest residences on Russian Hill and began the long process of redesigning and updating it, converting it to a multistory French-style townhouse, finally moving in with her growing collections in 1966. The stability derived from a permanent home allowed Mrs. Jaye to indulge her passions for history and the arts. Over the next decades she became a presence in organizations such as the National Maritime Archives at Fort Mason, the California Book Club, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a friend and benefactor of the Palace of Fine Arts (the Legion of Honor) and Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. Perhaps her most visible contribution to the life of San Francisco is the repoussé bronze and wood installation in Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral, “The Brotherhood of Man,” celebrating the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. It was conceptualized and designed by Mérí Jaye, commissioned originally by Ralph K. Davies for the International Building, and executed by sculptor Rodney Winfield. 

Influenced by the noted Texas writer, folklorist, and advocate for liberal social causes, J. Frank Dobie, Mrs. Jaye nurtured an interest in western American history and art and especially in American Indians. Friendship with Dr. Robert Staffanson, a Montana-born orchestra conductor and social activist, led her to be a founding board member of the American Indian Institute which he established at Bozeman in 1973. She also served on the Foundation Board of the University of Montana’s Museum of Art. She turned the top floor of her home into a library and salon, furnished with Indian art and artifacts, which she fondly called the “Wigwam.” 

Despite her many friendships and public benefactions, Mrs. Jaye remained an intensely private person. She became locally famous for her battles to preserve landmark trees on Russian Hill and for the preservation of the Presidio for public use rather than commercial profit. Less well-known were her support and encouragement over the decades of young musicians, artists, and writers, and her conspicuous and consistent dedication to racial and social justice. Her legacy, she would say, is her example of making a difference as a woman prevailing in a man’s world, and in fostering the arts and music as democratic endowments, accessible to all.

No services are planned at this time. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (https://sfcm.edu), or to the Save the Redwoods League (www.nature.org).