Hannah Griffith Bradley was born in Pasadena in 1928 to Mr. and Mrs. Richard Griffith and remained here as a longtime resident. She attended, and forever valued, Polytechnic and Ethel Walker schools, and Smith College. She married Wilson Bradley, Jr. and had three daughters, all of whom were raised in Pasadena.
Hannah believed strongly in contributing to one’s community and was involved with many philanthropic and volunteer activities, including the Pasadena Day Nursery, Los Angeles Arboretum, Caltech, and the Pasadena Mental Health Association.
Hannah graduated from Polytechnic School in 1942 and remained very involved in the school community initially as a teacher and later as the first woman to chair the Polytechnic School Board of Trustees. She received the school’s Distinguished Alumna Award in 1979, recognizing her 11-year board service and her broad philanthropic work.
Hannah was an avid gardener with a keen sense of design. She channeled this passion into a flower arranging business, as well as further community service as a long-time member of the Pasadena Garden Club, a docent at The Huntington Gardens, and the president of the California Arboretum Foundation. Her gardens were featured on many garden tours and her gardens and flower arrangements won numerous awards.
Later in her life Hannah moved to the family beach house at Sandyland Cove in Carpinteria, where she built a wonderful new community of friends, created more stunning gardens, and continued her passion for cooking. She loved the beach, enjoying the amazing sunsets and salty breezes as she overlooked the ocean. Her five grandchildren visited often, learning to love the beach and ocean as much as she did. Hannah had many physical challenges in her 92 years, but managed each one with determination, wit, and grace, and was a true inspiration to those who knew her.
Her daughters emphasize that their mother’s “leadership, intellect, work ethic, sense of humor, and commitment to community helped shape our vision of life’s possibilities” and turned to PCF to create the Hannah G. Bradley Endowment, which will support PCF’s work in the areas of Youth & Education. “Our mother had a long affiliation with PCF, and we wanted to honor her community involvement and her and out hometown roots. PCF’s ongoing commitment to the Pasadena community provided a natural way for us to build on the contributions our mother made to making the Pasadena area a better place.”
The Power of Endowment
Endowments are the cornerstone of PCF’s mission to build hometown legacies. The corpus of each endowed fund is invested with PCF’s portfolio for long-term growth. Each year, the endowments generate the funds that support PCF’s local grantmaking, which enriches the arts community, protects our environment, provides health care and critical social services, and bolsters public education in Pasadena. Endowments are permanent legacies for our community; these funds will continue to grow and provide philanthropic support forever. Learn more about creating an endowment at PCF.
Created July 2023