Bruner Hunneman Strawbridge, 95, socialite and volunteer

Bruner Hunneman Strawbridge, 95, of Happy Hollow Farm in Malvern, a socialite and civic volunteer, died Wednesday, Sept. 7, of senescence, or old age, at her farm.

She was known along Philadelphia's Main Line as an advocate for open space, and she acted in accordance with her beliefs. The sprawling Happy Hollow Farm on Goshen Road in Malvern Borough was among the first area farms to be placed under a conservancy, the Brandywine, so it would be protected in perpetuity from development.

Although she supported many local nonprofits, Mrs. Strawbridge was proudest of the work she did with longtime friend Nancy Sloane Coates. The two founded the Musicians Emergency Fund, a Philadelphia subset of the Hospitalized Veterans of Pennsylvania, to assist World War II veterans.

Eventually, the fund became the Community Clothing Charity, which resells donated designer fashions to raise money for a variety of causes.

Coates, of Haverford, died in March 2015.

Born in Merion to Alyse Matthews and William C. Hunneman Jr., Mrs. Strawbridge attended Haverford Friends School and Agnes Irwin School before graduating from Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, S.C.

A member of the Radnor Hunt since childhood, Mrs. Strawbridge was a skilled rider, winning ribbons and trophies for her performance at equestrian events here and in South Carolina.

She served on the Radnor Hunt Race Committee for many years. The committee, which raises money for the Brandywine Conservancy, was a family project. Her father, the committee's chairman starting in 1929, increased the purses for winners, built a modern steeplechase course at Radnor Hunt in Malvern, and championed the cause of amateur steeplechase riders.

In recognition of his contributions, the William C. Hunneman Jr. Perpetual Trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the Radnor Hunt Cup Race.

Known to friends as "Boo," Mrs. Strawbridge delighted in giving parties at her farm and another home she maintained on Lyford Cay, the Bahamas.

She enjoyed golf, gardening, and travel. She told family that film actor and dancer Fred Astaire once asked her to dance on an ocean liner returning to the United States from Paris. She was 16 at the time.

Mrs. Strawbridge was married to Edgar R. Owen Sr., with whom she had a son, Edgar R. Owen Jr., known as "Ned." After a divorce, she married Hugh C. Wallace. After a second divorce, she married George Strawbridge, an executive at Janney Montgomery Scott Inc., and an amateur steeplechase rider. They were happily married from 1955 until his death in 1990, her family wrote in a tribute. Owen Sr. died in 1999. Only Wallace, 94, survives.

"She was able to spend the last years of her life in the home she loved, watching her beloved belted Galloways - a type of beef cattle - grazing outside her windows," her family wrote. Galloways, typically black with a thick white band around their middles, are a heritage beef breed of cattle originating in southwest Scotland.

"She was a lady of true class," her family wrote.

In addition to her son, she is survived by stepson George Strawbridge Jr.; stepdaughter Diana Wister; 14 stepgrandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. A sister, Alyse, died earlier.

A graveside service will be at noon Wednesday, Sept. 14, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 763 S. Valley Forge Rd., Wayne.

Donations may be made to the Brandywine Conservancy, Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317; Willistown Conservancy, 925 Providence Rd., Newtown Square, Pa. 19073; or Thorncroft Equestrian Center, 190 Line Rd., Malvern, Pa. 19355.

bcook@phillynews.com

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