Mary Bradstreet Tarr

March 20, 1931 - August 7, 2020

Mary, or Biz as she was affectionately known, passed into her afterlife adventure after a brief invalidity in the Houston, Texas area where she'd resided in recent years. A vibrant woman with a can-do attitude and zest for living, Biz was born in Glendale, California as the younger daughter of Raymond and Annie Laurie Bradstreet She spent her formative years in San Gabriel and later San Marino where she acquired her nickname for her 'busy as a bee' academic, social and civic life at South Pasadena High School, Class of 1948.

After a year studying nursing at the University of Colorado, Biz transferred to UC Berkeley to be near her future husband, Nathan Tarrr, whom she'd met on a double date prior to her collegiate career. Biz took a secretarial position at her father's insurance office in Los Angeles and married Nathan in December 1950. Following his graduation in 1951, the couple moved to San Francisco where he'd enrolled at the Hastings College of Law, and then to Santa Ana after he'd graduated from USC Law School in 1954. They raised three children there, and in later years Biz held several administrative positions at Braegen Computer Industries in Anaheim and then a long career at Sprint as a customer service representative. Biz enjoyed her post-1996 retirement in Newport Beach where her parents had retired, and led a relaxed lifestyle with her interests in bridge, Broadway musicals, and travel paramount next to doting on her granddaughter. 

She is greatly missed and survived by her longtime love and companion Fred 'Stan' Standefer and 'honorary stepson' Doug Standefer and 'honorary stepdaughter' Jessica Standefer of Sugarland, Texas, son Brad of Newport Beach, daughter Kat Adkins and husband Dan of Prineville, Oregon, son Sam and husband Ricky Corbitt of San Francisco, and granddaughter Nina of Los Angeles, plus her legions of dear friends. She was predeceased by her sister, Jan Bradstreet Auld (SPHS '46).

Orange County Register, September 2, 2020