Margarita Mimi (Baez) Fariña (1945 - 2001)

Born 30 Apr 1945 in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Richard George Fariña — married 24 Aug 1963 in San Mateo, California, USA

Died 18 Jul 2001 at age 56 in Mill Valley, Marin County, California, USA

Biography

Mimi was born 20 April 1945 in Palo Alto, California. She was the daughter of Albert Báez and Joan Bridge. Her father was a physicist. ^[1] She and her sisters were raised as Quakers. ^[2]

On 24 Aug 1963 , Mimi married Richard Fariña in San Mateo, California. The reclusive writer, Thomas Pynchon served as best man. Richard and Mimi had been secretly married in Paris some months earlier. ^[3] Richard died in a motorcycle accident on 30 Apr 1966, Mimi's 21st birthday. ^[4]

Like her older sister, Joan Baez, Mimi was a musician and activist. She sang with her husband Richard in the mid-1960s up until the time of his death. Mimi played acoustic guitar and Richard played mainly mountain dulcimer. In 1967 Mimi was arrested, along with her sister Joan and her mother, for participating in an anti-draft protest in Oakland, California. The three served 10 days in jail.^[5] In 1974 she established the charity Bread and Roses and sang, along with other noted folk singers, in nursing homes, prisons, and hospitals. ^{[4] [6]}

Mimi died of complications associated with lung cancer in Mill Valley, Marin County, California on 18 July 2001. ^{[4] [7] [8]}

Sources

1. ↑ "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VLRM-4HX : 27 November 2014), Margarita Mimi Baez, 30 Apr 1945; citing Santa Clara, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
2. ↑ [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86193864/hartford-courant/ Hartford Courant Hartford, Connecticut 20 Jul 2001, Fri, p.169] (Obituary)
3. ↑ "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6DZ-T4Y : 27 November 2014), Richard G Farina and Margarit M Baez, 24 Aug 1963; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing San Mateo, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 4 Aug 2001, Sat, p.101
5. ↑ The Times (San Mateo, California) 26 Oct 1967, Thu, p. 40
6. ↑ WikiTree page for Mimi Fariña
7. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKFD-33B : 7 January 2021), Mimi Farina, 18 Jul 2001; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/238361043/mimi-margarita-farina: accessed 07 April 2023), memorial page for Mimi Margarita “auntie Mimi Baez Farina” Baez Farina (30 Apr 1945–18 Jul 2001), Find a Grave Memorial ID 238361043, citing Druid Heights Burial Site, Mill Valley, Marin County, California, USA; Maintained by oliviabaezrodwoodside28 (contributor 51172075).

See also

• Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña by David Hajdu. New York : Picador : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. ISBN 978-0-374-28199-1
• Richard and Mimi Fariña's appearance on Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest (Archive.org)
• WikiTree page for Joan Baez