September 2020 - 69

Maria Teresa Lavazza 1937-2020
Maria Teresa Lavazza, whose Italian bridge teams defined the competitive pinnacle for decades, died July 21
in Turin, Italy. Italian bridge great Alfredo Versace posted a tribute on the Neopolitan Bridge site: "From today
we will be more lonely: Italian and world bridge alike will miss her." Lavazza's passing marks the end of an era.
An art expert married to Italian espresso impresario Emilio Lavazza, Mrs. Lavazza took up bridge in her 30s. In
1980, she formed the Lavazza team, which she built in a formidable bridge force. In 1999, she was asked to serve
as the selector and captain of Italy's Open team. When the Italian Bridge Federation made the decision in 2012
to move from selecting its national Open team to a team trials process, she stepped down. In the graceful letter
photo by Michele Leone announcing her decision, she thanked everyone who supported her. "I also thank those who criticized me and
stood in my way: disappointments apart, they encouraged me to do better and better."
She continued to field winning teams and at the end of 2017, she was invited by the Italian Federal Committee president to resume
her non-captaincy of the national team. She accepted his invitation.
Versace was only 15 when Lavazza and longtime team member Italo Santia decided to take him to play in his first Italian Championships. "We had great success as a Lavazza team first and then as the National team. Lavazza was a winner. She encouraged you to be
your best; she was a leader."
At the European Championships in Ostend, Versace said, "Maria Teresa insisted on fielding an Argentinian boy who had been living
in Italy for a while. This decision was not popular but it proved right. We won, thanks to him, and all who criticized her shut up. Today,
this young boy is considered the best player in the world and I agree: he is Agustin Madala. Maria Teresa was like that: She was able to
spot talent and turn them into champions."
Lavazza was awarded the WBF Honour Trophy in 2006. When the International Bridge Press Association named her their 2012
Person of the Year, the awards write-up inventoried the contents of her trophy case as a captain or coach: all the major team titles -
three Olympiads, two Bermuda Bowls and a Rosenblum; a World Transnational Teams and five European Open Teams. As a player,
she celebrated wins in the European Mixed Teams and the European Champions Cup (twice).
Team Lavazza has been a familiar name at ACBL's North American Bridge Championships. Her teams have won well over a dozen
major events, including the three big team trophies - the Vanderbilt, the Spingold and the Reisinger. Their latest NABC victory was in
the Reisinger last fall in San Francisco.
Lavazza's social commitment surpassed even her dedication to bridge. She championed stem cell research as a treatment for degenerative diseases, and for more than 20 years, served as the president of the Piedmont section of the Italian Donors Association of
Umbilical Cord Blood.
In a July 22 Facebook post, The City of Health in Turin and its Children's Hospital Regina Margherita mourned the loss of their
"wish fairy." Among other achievements, the association - under Lavazza's captaincy - founded the pediatric cancer day hospital, inaugurated a department dedicated to palliative care and support for children with rare and incurable diseases and created a pediatric
emergency room.

Janet P. Breed 1935-2020
By the Breed family
Janet Phillips Breed, a Bronze Life Master from Falls Church
VA, died July 20. She was 85.
Jan was born in 1935 in Patterson NJ, the daughter of Ida
Thompson and Harold Moore Phillips. Jan had one brother, Daniel
(Danny) Phillips, who predeceased her.
Following graduation from Simmons College for Women with
a degree in business administration in 1957, Jan married Alan D. Breed, a lieutenant
junior grade in the U.S. Coast Guard. They left for Seattle where Alan was assigned
to the USCG Ice Breaker Northwind. Her husband's various assignments took them
north and south on the West Coast and to Yokohama, Japan, for three years, and then
to the East Coast for the remainder of his career.
Following Alan's retirement from the USCG, he founded a new company, and the
position brought them to Northern Virginia where they lived for many years.
The Breeds shared a very happy, congenial and loving relationship. They did everything together, helping each other in every endeavor. They ran a 35-table duplicate
bridge game in Arlington VA. They were accredited bridge teachers and Life Masters,
and they hosted four world cruises on the Crystal Cruise Line ships.

Solution to Crossword on pg. 65

September 2020 Bridge Bulletin

September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2020