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.
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