The trustees and staff of The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands are saddened to announce the passing of Sunnylands’ former house manager, Michael Comerford. Mr. Comerford died at his home in the Coachella Valley on Thursday, April 23. He was 84.
Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg deeply treasured their long-lasting relationship with Mr. Comerford. He met them in 1969 in London when Walter Annenberg became the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. Mr. Comerford was employed with the U.S. Embassy in London and assisted the Annenbergs with managing the ambassador’s residence there.
Mr. Comerford and the Annenbergs quickly bonded. In 1971, he traveled with them to Sunnylands, where he helped Mrs. Annenberg plan an Easter event for guests, including then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, and Great Britain’s Princess Alexandra, The Honorable Lady Ogilvy, and her husband, Angus Ogilvy.
Impressed with his previous work for the Duke of Gloucester and Queen Beatrix of Holland, the Annenbergs offered Mr. Comerford the position of house manager at Sunnylands and personal assistant to Walter Annenberg.
Michael Comerford offers a cake knife to First Lady Nancy Reagan on a Dec. 31, 1984, New Year’s Eve party. President Ronald Reagan and Leonore and Walter Annenberg are also shown in the photograph.
Michael Comerford sets desserts on the bar of the Game Room of Sunnylands in this undated photo.
Michael Comerford stands on the Sunnylands patio with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her husband, Denis, on their visit in February 1995.
Michael Comerford makes last-minute adjustments to table settings for a New Year’s Eve party on Dec. 31, 1992.
“I organized the entire household, hiring and replacing staff as needed, arranging weekend dinner parties from family gatherings to big events, including eight New Year’s Eve parties for President Ronald Reagan,” Mr. Comerford said in an interview.
Through the years, Mr. Comerford helped plan and execute events, parties, and weekends for the Annenbergs. He worked closely with Mrs. Annenberg to ensure a seamless level of hospitality for the guests. The event details “were cross-checked and coordinated for Mrs. Annenberg’s final approval,” Comerford said. “Two or three menu alternatives, with the help from the chef, were submitted first.”
As Sunnylands changed from a private home to a public retreat in 2009, after the passing of Mrs. Annenberg, Mr. Comerford continued his work with the estate as a valued historian to the Trust.
“When I started in 2009, he would visit us once a week,” said Sunnylands Director of Heritage Anne Rowe. “He annotated the photos in the photo albums, adding notes with names, places, etc. Years later, when it became difficult for him to come in, we started to deliver packets of information for him to annotate at home. He is a major reason we know who is in the photographs. As recently as September, he identified the location of a photograph that stumped us. His remarkable memories elevated the accuracy of the archives.”
Michael Comerford is affectionately and respectfully remembered for his friendship and dedication to the Annenberg family. The trustees and staff of Sunnylands are honored to have had Mr. Comerford as part of the Sunnylands family.