More than 200 people (including her daughter & party organizer, Ellen Fiss, right, and grandson Garrett Fiss, right) were on hand to celebrate Marion Brodarick’s 100th Birthday!
Considering that she has lived in Pebble Creek for almost 42 years and has entered pretty much every contest we’ve ever run in the Neighborhood News the last 29 (and has regularly called our office to tell us about any number of news stories in her neighborhood), I’ve long considered Marion Brodarick to be a cherished member of my newspaper family.
I therefore was thrilled when Florence Bronner, a member of the bridge club Marion has been a part of since she first moved to New Tampa from her native Chicago, called me to invite me to the bridge club’s celebration of Marion’s 100th birthday at Heritage Isles Golf Club (photo, near right, by Charmaine George).
I was even more excited that Jannah and I were then invited to attend Marion’s “real” 100th birthday bash, thrown for her by her daughter (and long-time publicist for Tampa General Hospital and Fox-13 TV before that) Ellen Fiss. The party was held over Labor Day weekend at The Orlo, a 100+-year-old house in downtown Tampa that has been converted into a spectacular event venue.
Marion was transported to the event in her “Birthday Express,” a beautiful 1920s-style car (right), and was escorted into The Orlo by Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin (or, at least, great impersonators of them; there also were Audrey Hepburn and Elvis impersonators on hand). Inside, Ellen had tables of beautiful, signed photos from not only local newscasters, but celebrities such as Julie Andrews, Johnny Depp, Carol Burnett, Jerry Seinfeld and others, as well as commendations from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd and the Tampa Bay Bucs, plus many other artifacts of Marion’s life, including photos from her wedding to her husband of 58 years, Urban “Brod” Brodarick, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 86.
During her speech at the party, Ellen said that more than 200 people were in attendance (many of whom wore 1920s-era costumes), including more than 50 relatives, who came from 15 states to be there. Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco (photo on next page) and his wife, Dr. Linda McClintock, were among those who attended in person, while other dignitaries sent videos, including Santiago Corrada of Visit Tampa Bay (where Marion worked for three decades when it was called the Tampa Convention & Visitors Bureau; she also volunteered for 30+ years at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts), Fox-13 anchors Russell Rhodes and Jen Epstein, News Channel 8’s Stacy Schaible and Josh Benson and others.
There was dancing to the music of the 12-piece Don Juceam Orchestra, a quartet from Palma Ceia United Methodist Church (where Ellen and her husband Herb Fiss are members) who sang all of the theme songs of the U.S. military, a letter from Marion’s relatives in Croatia that was read by her granddaughter Olivia Fiss, delicious food by private chef Justin Fedin and the most wonderful feeling Jannah and I have ever felt attending a birthday party.
Congrats, Marion. We love you!
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