While skiing at Mammoth Mountain, Mary Therese Ingraham met Bernard “Bun” Johnson at the bottom of Rope Tow #1, which had broken down and afforded them time to get acquainted. Bun, a UCLA Bruin and Mary, a USC Trojan, married August 15, 1952. Mary and Bun raised their family in Altadena.
Bun joined the Board of the Pasadena Community Foundation in 1999, bringing both financial expertise (as chairman emeritus of Provident Investment Counsel) and a deep commitment to the community. He was an honorary director of the Tournament of Roses, a Board member of the SGV Council for the Boy Scouts of America, and a longtime member of Pasadena Rotary.
Mary was also engaged as a volunteer, delivering many a hot meal to housebound Altadena residents through her work with the Scripps Home and Meals on Wheels. Mary was a terrific tennis and bridge player, and she proved her prowess at the Altadena Town and Country Club with wonderful, like-minded friends. She attained Master Bridge status and traveled to play in bridge tournaments.
Mary and Bun were yachters and navigated Mexican, Pacific, Atlantic, Alaskan, Great Lakes, and Caribbean waters on their sport fishing boats, Wild Coast and Reel World. They were Great Loop veterans, and traveled the world extensively with the Tournament of Roses group and their many friends and family.
As a legacy for their community, Bun and Mary established an endowment at PCF in 2004 to support grant making in Pasadena and Altadena. The fund makes annual distributions to local nonprofit organizations as part of PCF’s grants program.
Updated July 25, 2019