Monica Tully died in her sleep on Oct. 15 at the age of 89.
Born in Santa Monica on Oct. 8, 1920, Tully lived in Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades all her life. She attended Holy Trinity School, St. Monica’s School and later Santa Monica High School, where she was a member of the Class of 1938. She then attended Santa Monica College.
In 1941, Tully married Alfred “Curly” Polkinghorn. They lived in Santa Monica, where they raised their children, Carol and John. Tully was a longtime member of the Santa Monica Beach & Swim Club, where she also worked as an activities coordinator. She and Curly owned the “Bay View Seafood” market located on the Santa Monica Pier. Later, she was employed at Barker Brothers’ Department Store. She also worked with Murray Spivack in the Sound Department at Twentieth Century Fox Studio for more than 30 years, working on many movies such as “Hello Dolly” and “The Sound of Music.”
In 1971, Tully married Wilford H. Tully and they moved to Pacific Palisades. In recent years, Monica enjoyed volunteering for the Pacific Palisades chapter of the AARP, where she served as secretary. She was an avid supporter of the ASPCA, Parrot Rescue League and Pacific Palisades’ Los Angeles County Library.
Tully is survived by her son, John Polkinghorn; her son-in-law, Bill Zimmermann; her grandchildren, Stephanie McLean-Coleman, Christine McLean-Greene, Sean McLean, Adam Zimmermann, Cindy Polkinghorn, and Kelly Polkinghorn. She leaves great-grandchildren Britlyn and Brianna Coleman; Corey, Justin, and Ryan Brown; Kyle, Monica, Kevin, Ian, and Allen McLean; Gabrielle and Lilly Zimmermann; and Kylie Pearson. She is also survived by her stepdaughters Pamela Tully Price and Kathleen Tully Fried and their children, Brian Price, Emily Price, and Zachary Tully Fried.
Monica was preceded in death by her daughter, Carol Polkinghorn-Zimmerman and her late husband, Wilford H. Tully.
On Nov. 8 at 1 p.m., a memorial will be held in her honor at the Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, followed by a celebration of her life, held at her home in Pacific Palisades.