A Legacy Advocating for Healthy Women and Children

The late philanthropist Maureen Holthe championed two causes dear to her heart: breast cancer research and children. From an estate totaling more than $600,000, including a real estate gift, three charities will benefit from her altruism: City of Hope, the Boys & Girls Club of Tustin and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. As a breast cancer survivor, Holthe was moved to support innovative research into the disease.

Although she was not treated at City of Hope, she believed strongly in the institution’s efforts to advance breast cancer research. The Boys & Girls Club of Tustin — an organization founded by her mother, Helen, and her brother, Merwin — was another priority for her. “Maureen believed that every child deserved a chance at a better life,” said Esther Laspada, her college friend and the trustee of her will. “She was strongly committed to serving the youth in her community.”

Raised in Oregon, Holthe established herself in her family’s business. Graduating from Santa Ana College with a business degree in the 1950s, she helped transform Holthe Disposal, a waste management company, from a single truck to a massive fleet, which once served all of Orange County, Calif. 

Various civic and business organizations in Tustin benefited from her business savvy. Holthe served on the boards of several local banks, as well as the Boys & Girls Club. Her contributions earned her the Tustin Woman of the Year award in 1974 as well as the Athena Award in 2003, which honored her professional excellence, community service and her support of fellow businesswomen.

Holthe even earned a pilot’s license, which served as a metaphor for her wanderlust. “She traveled to Africa for safaris and to the Antarctic to walk among penguins,” Laspada said. “She even learned to parasail in her 60s.”