It is with great sorrow we say good-bye to our dear friend Marlene Medwin Wald. Marlene was the wife of KTLA-TV (Los Angeles, CA) news director Jeff Wald. Jeff is one of Jon’s best friends. On December 19, 2006, Marlene passed away in her sleep at the age of 51 from a heart attack. Marlene was on vacation with her daughter Ashley in Mexico. Jeff had been asked to stay behind at the last minute to personally over-see a project at work.
Marlene was a devoted wife and loving mother to her daughter Ashley, age 14. Nothing was more important to Marlene than her family, and her daughter meant the world to her. Marlene loved to take trips with her family and was a very kind lady. Jon and I will remember the wonderful times we spent with the Wald family. I will always remember Marlene’s warm smile and the kind woman she was.
Over the years we enjoyed many dinners, and shared many family activities together. Jon attended (well videotaped) Jeff and Marlene’s wedding and they were apart of ours. Marlene and Jeff were married for 19 years.
Jon actually had known Marlene longer than Jeff. Marlene was hired by Gerry Ruben (a close friend and executive producer at KTLA) as a Chyron operator at KTLA prior to Jeff becoming news director in 1980. Marlene was a true entrepreneur and was always looking for that perfect fit. She handled the stock market with ease and recently had moved into real-estate, selling several homes this past year.
Marlene had commented often on what a wonderful father Jon would make. So, when Jon and I decided to adopt, Jeff and Marlene were one of the four couples we asked to write a reference letter on our behalf. We are deeply saddened Marlene will never have the opportunity to meet our beautiful daughter Stefanie in person. Her grace and warmth will be greatly missed.
