News & Impact

San Francisco Chronicle by Sam Whiting For once, the Brown twins are not in matching outfits. Marian B. is in hers, a leopard-print cowboy hat and car coat, but her sister, Vivian A., older by eight minutes, is in bedclothes at Davies medical center. “My sister has Alzheimer’s, so she has to have 24-hour care, because they’re afraid she will go out and get run over or something,” says Marian, offering a straight answer to the question everybody who sees her on the streets stops to ask. “Where’s your sister?” Read More from the San Francisco Chronicle… Read More

KCBS Radio 740 AM / 106.9 FM by Susan Kennedy Donations have poured in to help the iconic Brown twins remain together since the older sister, Vivian, developed Alzheimer’s requiring round the clock care that landed her in the hospital. Until her stay at Davies Medical Center, Vivian A. Brown was rarely seen apart from her identical sister Marian B. Brown. And the two always wore matching outfits that won them local celebrity and appearances in national advertising campaigns pitching airlines, computers and sneakers. Read More from KCBS Radio… Read More

KGO-TV, ABC 7 by Carolyn Tyler Two of San Francisco’s most well-known personalities are dealing with an enormous challenge. What they are going through highlights a national problem facing seniors. Marian and Vivian Brown are in the San Francisco Hall of Fame. But now they are fighting to stay in the city they love even though the health care they now need is hard to find and very expensive. Marian and Vivian Brown are identical twins; colorful characters in San Francisco since they arrived from Michigan more than 40 years ago. See More from KGO-TV & ABC 7… Read More

San Francisco Chronicle by Willie Brown When it comes to San Francisco icons, the Brown twins – Vivian and Marian – with their signature matching outfits, dazzling blond hair and even more dazzling smiles, have been as much a part of the city as Coit Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge. And they likely have been photographed as often as well. Read More from the San Francisco Chronicle… Read More

Our travel portion of the journey has concluded, but our experiences and memories will always be with us. Below are reflections from the final days of the Legacy Tour. July 10, 2012 Yesterday we traveled southwest in the direction of Tel Aviv. One the way we visited a unique farming program that educates groups on agriculture in Israel. I learned that Israel farms in the sand which is amazing and that the state has patented a few agricultural techniques. We were treated to fresh carrots that we plucked from the earth and tomatoes off the vine… all were delicious.  A… Read More

July 8, 2012 Today, we went to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. It was absolutely magnificent and well thought out. The museum focused on the remembrance of the unnamed victims of the Holocaust. We had the opportunity to explore on our own and fill our heads with so much information. The countless photos of people before the Holocaust had a particular impact on me, because you could see the souls of the people. Their personality and humanity was crystal clear through those photos.After spending about four hours there, we had a discussion with Gil Hoffman, a political journalist with the Jerusalem… Read More