Orrin K. (O.K.) Earl was a well-recognized community leader noted for building more than 1,000 structures throughout Southern California and for playing a mean game of golf at Annandale Country Club. What many did not know about O.K. was how deeply he was committed to Pasadena, which he considered one of the best places in the world to live. To help keep it that way, O.K. joined PCF’s Legacy Society and planned an unrestricted bequest to PCF; he was also a member of PCF’s Board of Directors for almost 12 years and served as its Chair for one term.
During his tenure at the Foundation, he helped determine how PCF’s unrestricted grant funds would be distributed to support nonprofit organizations in the community. He also gave generously of his personal resources with donor advised gifts through the Foundation. Describing himself as a builder, not a contractor, O.K. was always concerned about the future of the community where he had graduated from high school and raised his family. Upon his death in January, 2004, O.K. Earl’s bequest created the O.K. Earl Endowment, which supports Pasadena Community Foundation’s local grantmaking.
