Mary Burton, public beach protector, dies at 99

June Casagrande

When people would ask Mary Burton what she thought about large crowds

of people enjoying the beach right outside her front door, Burton

would say: “I like it. Rich people shouldn’t have all the beaches.”

Indeed, anyone who’s glad to have public beaches in Corona del Mar

is indebted to Burton, who died last month at age 99, leaving behind

a priceless legacy for the entire region.

“She believed that the beaches should be for everybody,” said Mary

Fussell, Burton’s only child.

Among Burton’s countless contributions to her community and her

family is a feat that in the 1940s shaped local history: Along with

local activist Isabel Pease, Burton, an attorney, helped expose a

conflict of interest that would have kept Corona del Mar Beach in the

hands of Citizens Bank.

Newport Beach city officials were working to assure the beach’s

future through a land swap that would put the beach in the state’s

hands. But they put the brakes on the plan on the advice of then-City

Attorney Roland Thompson, who told local leaders that laws precluded

the city from giving the beach to the state. Though some were puzzled

by Thompson’s advice, no one questioned it until, by chance, Burton’s

husband, Philip, came across a surprising bit of information.

While working for the local flood control district, Philip was

conducting research in Glendale when he came across documents that

showed that Thompson had a working relationship with Citizen’s Bank.

At the time, the city attorney’s post was a part-time job that

allowed for other clients, but such conflicts of interest were not

OK. Mary Burton blew the whistle at a council meeting, and a

newspaper headline the next day proclaimed, “Woman attorney drops

bombshell.”

Now, two benches near her Ocean Avenue home stand as a permanent

reminder of Burton’s contribution.

Burton was born Aug. 8, 1903, and grew up in Pasadena. As a child,

she fell in love with Corona del Mar on her regular visits to her

family’s summer home, one of the first houses built in Corona del

Mar. She graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe before earning her

law degree in 1935 from the Boalt Hall law school at UC Berkeley. She

retired with her husband to their Corona del Mar beach house in 1955.

Burton died of heart failure on March 14.

“Mother was such a wonderful person,” Fussell said. “She was warm,

she was intelligent, she was witty. She was profoundly sympathetic

and interested in other people and their problems. She had a very

good head on her shoulders and gave very good advice. She was a very

loving.”

Former Mayor Jan Debay became friends with Burton in 1980 when

they were part of a four-woman bridge club that would last two

decades. Debay said Wednesday that Burton was an extraordinary person

and a wonderful friend.

“She had a brilliant mind. She was a talented, beautiful woman,”

Debay said. Recalling the sweet peas Burton grew and shared with her

friends, Debay added, “She filled my house with sweet peas.”

The family will hold private services later this month. Burton is

survived by daughter Fussell; and nephews William, Torrey and Bruce

Everett.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.