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Mary Bernis Taylor Hunt of San Marino passed away on June 21, 2006, at the age of 101. Born Mary Bernis Buchanan in Marian, Indiana on August 16, 1904, “Mary B.”’ was the daughter of a minister, Walter S. Buchanan, and his wife, Nora Kinsher Buchanan. Mary B. was an intelligent, rambunctious woman with a tremendous wit. As a young girl and, later, at Los Angeles High School, Mary B. was active acting in and directing plays. She carried that passion on to Occidental College in 1923 where she met fellow drama student, Robert R. Taylor. After a year, both transferred to UCLA where Mary B. received her degree in 1926. In 1929, Mary B. and Robert Taylor were married and settled in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. She subsequently went back to school and received her Master's degree from USC in 1931 A couple of years later, she received her teaching credential and became a drama teacher. Mary B. loved to teach, something she would continue to do for the rest of her life. In 1936, Mary B. and Robert Taylor found an empty lot in San Marino and built their dream home, an authentic Williamsburg Colonial house In 1954, Mary B. was among a small group of women who estab lished the San Marino League, a nonprofit organization of women committed to doing philanthropic work in the community focusing on support of the fine arts. Thus began a lifelong relationship between Mary B. and the Huntington Library. Mary B. later became a Fellow and an Overseer at the Huntington, and served on both the marketing and botanical garden committees. In 1957, Mary B., who was inter ested in Japanese culture, traveled to Kyoto, Japan to study Japanese flower arranging. The trip changed her life. She had a new passion: Ikebana! In 1958, Mary B. began teaching the principles of the Ikenobu School of Ikebana in the Ikebana House of the Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library. In 1984, when the Olympic Games were in Los Angeles, she received international acclaim for the Huntington's Japanese Garden Festival. Mary B.'s other interests included the Gamble House, the Pasadena Philharmonic Association and the Pacific Asia Museum. In 1975, after 45 years of marriage, Robert Taylor died. Later, Mary B. found love again with Ralph V. Hunt. They were married at the chapel in Yosemite National Park. Ralph Hunt died in 1982. Mary B. met William H. Eager in 1995 and they became and remained com panions until his death in 2003. Mary B. had no children, but is sur vived by a stepdaughter, Diane Hunt Stockmar, who lives in Colorado. A celebration of the life of Mary Bernis Taylor Hunt is planned at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens at a time to be announced. Mary B. was cremated and interred with Robert R. Taylor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Robert R. Taylor and Mary B. Taylor Hunt Endowment at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. Please contact Kimberley Valentine (626) 405- 2263, kvalentine@huntington.org, c/o The Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108.
Newspaper Details
San Marino Tribune
San Marino, California, US
Thu, Aug 03, 2006
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Dennis H.
USA 26 Jun 2026
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