Friends fund new research

The Crean estate on the Back Bay opened its formidable colonial doors

to welcome Adult Day Services of Orange County recently. It was the

fifth annual gala benefiting an organization that serves O.C.

residents facing Alzheimer’s disease and their families.

The affair was billed as A Gathering of Friends ... Getting to

Know Molly, and the evening was dedicated to Molly Dawson, 85, who is

fighting Alzheimer’s. Some 200 guests in summer chic attire dined on

the Crean lawn under umbrellas honoring Dawson and all those

afflicted in O.C.

The special evening also honored Michael Stephens, the retiring

chief executive officer of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in

Newport Beach. Stephens and his wife Diane enjoyed the party with

fellow Hoag devotees Lin and Al Auer, Jan and Jack Stephenson, Carle

Ann Nero, Mark Vitug, Joan Lund, Cindy Picquelle, Karen Johnson,

Joanne Spagle and Monica Bush.

Chaired by Eve Thompson, the summer dinner raised $150,000 in

donations and auction proceeds.

Johnson served as mistress of ceremonies. She is also the board

chair of Adult Day Services.

Serving the community for 25 years, Adult Day Services of Orange

County is dedicated to providing quality care “from the earliest to

the most advanced stages of dementia,” offered Celine Keeble in a

written statement.

Also on hand for the Crean dinner was executive director Cordula

Dick-Muehlke, who graciously thanked the large, supportive crowd for

its continued support.

To find out more about the work of Adult Day Services, call (714)

593-9630 or log on to https://www.adultdayservicesoc.org.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.