Pierre Salinger’s Half-Sister Anne Chasid Dies at 82

Anne Salinger Chasid of Laguna Hills, half-sister of Pierre Salinger, died April 10 at age 82.

Born Dec. 6, 1914, in Salt Lake City, Utah, she received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley and a teaching certificate from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., where she then taught in elementary schools. In 1942, she married Rabbi Saul B. Appelbaum.

Widowed in 1964, Chasid assisted her half-brother, Pierre Salinger, that year in his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in California. In his memoirs, the former press secretary for President John F. Kennedy quotes his sister referring to a campaign visit to Orange County:

“I didn’t know anything about Orange County, so I was very unsuspecting. We got there, the train stopped, and there were mean-faced people all over the place. They started throwing tomatoes and oranges and God knows what. They were so unkind.”

Despite her first impression, she moved to Leisure World in Laguna Hills after marrying William Yarmy in 1968.

When he died in 1983, Chasid devoted much of her time to fund-raising for the City of Hope. She was treasurer of the hospital’s Leisure World chapter.

“It helped her to help them,” said Bruce Sedley, her half-brother. “It was a labor of love.”

A year later, she married Herman Chasid, who assisted her in supporting the City of Hope until he died in 1993.

She is survived by three other half-brothers: George, Herbert and Richard Salinger; two children and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday at 5371 Punta Alta, Leisure World.