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| La signorina Lawton Filer, 1926. |
Il 1° marzo 1902 a Salt Lake City, nello Utah, nacque Lawton Filer, unica figlia e figlia di Walter George Filer (1870-1943), un ingegnere minerario, e di sua moglie Esther Freed (1878-1967). I Filer si trasferirono in California poco dopo la nascita della figlia. Lawton Filer studiò alla Miss Shimm's di San Mateo e frequentò la scuola di perfezionamento della Miss Spence a New York City.
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| La signorina Lawton Filer, 1921. |
Nel 1916, il Goodwin's Weekly di Salt Lake City (volume 27, 17 giugno 1916, pag. 9) conteneva questa voce: " Dopo aver trascorso l'inverno in questo stato per diversi anni, il signor e la signora Walter Filer sono giunti alla conclusione che la California è il posto ideale e, per dimostrarlo, hanno acquistato la residenza di George A. Newell nella tenuta di Newell vicino a Burlingame. Il signor e la signora Filer stanno scegliendo l'arredamento della loro casa e prevedono di trasferirsi all'inizio dell'autunno. I Filer hanno una figlia, la signorina Lawton Filer, una bellissima ragazza che sarà una debuttante di diverse stagioni da qui in poi ". I Filer divennero membri dell'ambiente sociale di San Francisco. La signora Filer e la signorina Lawton Filer andavano nei fine settimana al lago Tahoe, partecipavano ai balli in maschera in città e si mescolavano ad altri nomi benestanti di San Francisco durante le cene allo St. Francis Hotel di Union Square. Nell'agosto del 1918, Esther Filer organizzò un ballo per sua figlia e le sue amiche al La Cumbre County Club di Santa Barbara. Nel 1921, Lawton Filer prese il suo posto come debuttante della stagione. Nell'ottobre del 1924, Lawton Filer fu una damigella d'onore alle nozze di James Athearn Folger III (di Folgers Coffee) e Jane Carrigan che si tennero alla St. Mary's Cathedral in California e Grant.
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| Conte Degenhard von Wurmbrand-Stuppach. |
Lawton Filer’s marital stakes were cemented during a 1925 trip to Europe with her mother. Esther and Lawton made their headquarters in Paris; from this base, mother and daughter spent a good deal of time in Rome and on the French Riviera. The Filers then made their way to Vienna. While in the Austrian capital, Lawton made the acquaintance of Count Degenhard von Wurmbrand-Stuppach. Born on 17 July 1893 at Schloß Krummnußbaum, Count Degenhard Gundaccar Adolf Maria von Wurmbrand-Stuppach was the second child and eldest son and heir of Count Wilhelm von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1862-1927) and Margarethe von Schenk (1872-1957). The engagement between Count Degenhard von Wurmbrand-Stuppach and Miss Lawton Filer was announced from Vienna in April 1926.
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| Countess Lawton von Wurmbrand-Stuppach, mid-1930s. |
Lawton and Degenhard’s romance must have been a whirlwind. A month after their engagement, the couple were married in Paris on 15 May 1926. They divided their time between the Wurmbrand estate in Vienna and the family’s apartment in Paris. The count and countess traveled to New York City in December 1926 in order to spend the Christmas holidays with Mr. and Mrs. Filer. The Wurmbrand pair settled in New York City in January 1927. On 11 April 1927 in the Big Apple, Lawton gave birth to Countess Leonora “Lori” Huberta Maria von Wurmbrand-Stuppach, who would be Lawton and Degenhard’s only child. In September 1927, Degenhard and Lawton spent a spell in Burgliname, where they were hosted by the Filers and entertained by the family’s friends. In January 1931, the Wurmbrand-Stuppachs moved to San Francisco with their daughter.
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| Countess Lawton von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (née Filer) and Herbert Fleishhacker. |
On 10 December 1935, Count Degenhard and Countess Lawton von Wurmbrand-Stuppach were divorced in Reno, Nevada. Custody of their eight year-old daughter Leonora and property rights were settled out of court. Lawton Filer von Wurmbrand-Stuppach married San Francisco banker Herbert J. Fleishhacker Jr. (1907-1968) on 20 March 1936 in the Filer residence at Burlingame. The bride carried an orchid bouquet and wore “pale shell pink lace and chiffon” in a “filmy creation with a full skirt and cape sleeves.” The groom was a Stanford graduate who stood 6 feet 4 inches tall. Superior Judge Timothy Fitzpatrick performed the service at high noon, which was followed by a wedding breakfast. Afterwards, the newlyweds motored to Palm Springs for their honeymoon. After returning to the city, they took up an apartment on Green Street.
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| Walter George Filer. |
On 3 April 1943, Walter G. Filer passed away in San Mateo. Having became a successful businessman, Mr. Filer left 1/2 of his assets to his widow; the other half of the estate went to his only child Lawton. Lawton Filer Wurmbrand Fleishhacker’s mother Esther Freed Filer died on 13 July 1967. The estate of Mrs. Filer was worth $2.5 million at the time. Esther bequeathed 1/3 of her assets to her granddaughter Leonora as well as Leonora’s three children: Therese, Paul, and Albert. The remainder went to Esther’s daughter Lawton.
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| Countess Leonora von Wurmbrand-Stuppach and Robert Folger Miller, 1947. |
Lawton’s only child Countess Lori von Wurmbrand-Stuppach wed Robert “Bob” Folger Miller on 9 August 1947 at St. Catherine’s Church in Burlingame. Lori had attended Vassar and studied at Radcliffe College. Bob was the son of Robert Watt Miller (1899-1970) and Elizabeth Jane Folger (1898-1994). After their marriage, Lori and Bob Miller lived in Boston, where Bob was completing his studies at Harvard University. The couple had three children: Therese Marie Miller (b.1949), Paul Michael Miller (b.1950), and Albert “Albie” Watt Miller (1951-1974). In 1963, the Millers moved to Europe; their daughter Therese was enrolled in a French school and their sons attended a Swiss school. Alas, all was not well in the Miller marriage. In October 1964, the Robert Folger Millers were divorced; Lori charged Bob with extreme mental cruelty. The couple shared joint custody of their three children.
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| Countess Leonora von Wurmbrand-Stuppach. |
Lori Wurmbrand-Stuppach Miller was not to remain single for long. On 21 December 1965, she married Thomas-Alfred “Tommy” Wertheimer Edler von Wertheimstein at the Chelsea Registrar’s Office in London. The couple’s witnesses were Lord Ashcombe and Kelpie Buchanan. Lori’s ex-husband Bob Miller had remarried the month prior, in November 1965, to family friend Maryon McGuire Funsten in Carson City. Lori and Tommy Wertheimer honeymooned at Gstaad; Bob and Maryon Miller were vacationing on the Swiss Alps at the same time with Lori and Bob’s three children.
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| Herbert J. Fleishhacker Jr. |
Un anno dopo la morte della madre, Lawton rimase vedova quando suo marito Herbert Fleishhacker Jr. morì il 18 dicembre 1968. Herbert ebbe un infarto mentre andava a caccia di anatre vicino a Maryville, California. Il signor Fleishhacker ebbe una carriera imprenditoriale di immenso successo; era diventato vicepresidente della Crocker-Anglo National Bank. Dall'appartamento di San Francisco in cui lui e Lawton avevano iniziato la loro vita coniugale, la coppia si era trasferita in una villa al 15 di Woodgate Court a Hillsborough. I Fleishhacker avevano anche una casa in Oregon, dove si abbandonavano al loro comune amore per la pesca. Herbert e Lawton volavano spesso in Alaska, dove Herbert poteva dedicarsi alla sua passione per la caccia grossa. Lawton e Herbert non avevano figli.
All'età di novantasei anni, la signora Lawton Filer Wurmbrand Fleishhacker morì il 30 dicembre 1998 a Hillsborough, California. Fu sepolta accanto al marito Herbert al Cypress Lawn Memorial Park di Colma.
