Cynthia Virden Malone, 87, of Gulf Shores, passed away Saturday, June 17, 2023.
Cynthia was born April 6, 1936, in Annapolis, Maryland, where her father taught at the U.S. Naval Academy. Within two years, the family moved to China where her sister was born in 1939. The family was eventually evacuated to The Philippines at the onset of Japanese Occupation of Shanghai. Subsequent moves took the Navy family to California and Evanston, Illinois. The family remained in Evanston throughout WWII when her father went to sea in the Pacific. Following the war, the family moved again, to New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Newport, Rhode Island. In Newport, Cynthia graduated from Rogers High School. In 1953, she attended Duke University and graduated with a BA degree in Religion. Following graduation, she worked for the American Embassy in Paris, and later, in Washington for the Senate Interior Committee, with a concurrent stint working in the national headquarters for the JFK presidential campaign.
In 1961, she married her Navy husband, Bob Malone, also a Duke graduate. The couple moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where their son Stephen was born in 1962. The next Navy move took them to Yokosuka, Japan. While there, Cynthia taught English in a local community school. Additional moves took the family to Monterey, where son Frank was born, then on to San Diego, where twins Charles and Marshall were born.
Following a move back to Washington, D.C., Cynthia attended and graduated, along with Bob, from the Defense Language Institute (Spanish). She began her writing career by writing feature stories for The Army-Navy Times, a monthly magazine. An additional move back to San Diego consisted of long periods of separation from Bob during the Vietnam War. Raising four sons alone was a challenge, but helpful neighbors gave her a sense of community; a topic she often spoke and wrote about.
In 1978 upon Bob's retirement from the Navy, the family moved to Gulf Shores. There, Cynthia started a new career by becoming the main broker for the family real estate firm, Commander Realty. She continued her writing and wrote a local newspaper column, "While It's on My Mind," for 12 years. Active in the First Presbyterian Church in Foley, she became an Elder, served as Clerk of Session, served on the Witness and Service Committee, College Campus Ministries, Hispanic Ministry and helped begin and lead "LOGOS," a youth program for 13 years. Upon retirement from real estate, she devoted her life to the church, Cursillo, and her 17 grandchildren. Cynthia’s hobbies included knitting, sewing, and needlepoint.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Katherine Stanley Virden; as well as her son, R. Stephen Malone Jr.
Survivors include her husband, Bob Malone; sons, Frank E. Malone (Jennifer), Charles W. Malone (Inese) and Marshall H. Malone (Leslie); as well as daughter-in-law, Melanie W. Malone.
Memorial service will be held 10: a.m. Friday, June 30, at First Presbyterian Church of Foley, AL (USA), 195 Berry Ave., Foley, AL 36535, with the Rev. Dr. Julian Walthall officiating. A reception will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Presbyterian Home for Children, P.O. Box 577, Talladega, AL 35161, or to Ecumenical Ministries of Baldwin County, 102 W. Spruce Ave., Foley, AL 36535.
