“To make a long story short.”
A quote known to anyone who has ever had a conversation with Lucinda. Anyone who heard that phrase leave her lips also knew that it wasn’t going to be a short story. When you hear a diagnosis of a brain tumor, you think “oh well, that’s it. It’s gonna be a long life story shortened.” There is no denying that her story ended too soon.
Lucinda Schiff’s 15-year-battle with recurring brain tumors ended on Wednesday, Dec. 30th at 8:15 p.m. PT at her home in the Pacific Palisades, California. She was 61.
Born and raised as Lucinda Valles in Puerto Rico, her father abandoned her, her three little sisters, and their Irish American mother to fend for themselves, and at 15 years of age her mother died in her arms. Shipped off to New York, more abandonment followed when her dad sent her out of the house at 18 for exhibiting an independent spirit.
An actress in “The Thornbirds,” “Miracle On Ice,” episodes of “Three’s Company” and a handful of co-starring roles in feature films, when she met and married David Schiff, she dedicated the rest of her life as a wife and mother. Lucinda has been known in all her neighborhoods and children’s schools as “everyone’s mother.”
The name Lucinda means “graceful light,” and was the Roman goddess of childbirth who safeguarded the lives of women in labor. Lucinda gave the “first light” to the newborn, and illumined them all the way to adulthood, and lighted every room she entered.
When her youngest son reached pre-school, Lucinda produced exquisite works of art and interior design. Later, even between surgeries and in distress, her massive renovation of their Palisades home circa 1926 was featured in the LA Times and continued to be a magnet to friends, family and wandering loners. Lucinda’s legacy is her children and all those who have had even a moment with her.
Lucinda is survived by her husband, David Schiff, founder of MGMT. Entertainment, a talent management and production company, daughter, Kaylie with a soon-to-be born baby girl, sons Mickey and Henry, and sisters Marisa, Aileen and Sheila.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Lucinda’s name to Every Mother Counts, a non-profit dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother everywhere. Please donate at www.everymothercounts.org or send a check to Every Mother Counts at 180 Varick Street, Suite 1116, New York, NY 10014.