Gertrude Bradbury9 "Withy" (Withington) Hathaway (Marion Adelaide8, Wyman Bradbury7, Luther6, Joseph5, Samuel4, Joseph3, Alexander2, Robert1), 84, died in Pomona, CA on December 20, 1994 of complications of Alzheimer's.
Withy was born November 8, 1911 in Wakefield, MA, daughter of Marion Adelaide (Junkins) and Leonard Withington. Her mother died when she was about five and her brother, Leonard, about three. As a child, she lived in Newburyport, MA, Honolulu, HI and Fort Worth, TX. She often spent summers with her paternal grandparents in Honolulu. She was a life-long friend of Mary (McIntire) Davis of York, ME and visited her when in New England.
She graduated from high school in Fort Worth and then went to college at her father's alma mater, Pomona College in CA, gratuating in 1933. It was there that she met her future husband and classmate who was born in Chicago, IL. She married Richard "Rich" Charles Hathaway, July 21, 1935 in El Centro, CA. They lived in CA from then on and raised three daughters there.
In college, Withy majored in English and minored in Art, her first love, because at that time there was no Art major. She acquired her nickname of "Withy" in college because there were three Gertrudes in her sorority house. It stuck and after that, only some close family called her by her given name.
While their girls were young, Withy's main art endeavors were making posters for school carnivals and other events, making posters for church rummage sales and making things for her daughters. When the girls were older, she took several watercolor and other classes and became active in the local Art Association, serving as President at least once. She and her artist friends went out to local sites once a week to paint landscapes and buildings. Her art was exhibited in many local places.
Withy and Rich bought an 1895 Victorian house and 5-acre orange grove shortly before their firist child was born. They spent the next 15 years remodeling it and the barn on the property, which they made into a two bedroom rental. Withy even took a class in architecture so she could help with the design of the remodeling. Eventually, suburbia crept into their neighborhood and they sold the orange grove and then the house. After much research, they moved into Mt. San Antonio Gardens, a renowned life-care facility, where she died.
In addition to her husband, Withy is survived by their daughters: Ann Marion Cheney, Griswold, CT; Sandra Lorraine Pearson, Brattleboro, VT; Elaine Marie Aldridge, Aquilla, TX; seven grandchildren and one great-grandson.
