City Council Honors Civic Leader Betsy Nathane

The Pasadena City Council adjourned its June 15 meeting in memory of Betsy Nathane, a dedicated community advocate whose efforts helped transformed a closed elementary school into Linda Vista Park.

Councilmember Steve Madison requested the adjournment, noting Nathane’s recent passing after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Nathane was a prominent figure in West Pasadena and Linda Vista, serving as chair of the city’s Urban Forestry Advisory Committee and vice president of the Linda Vista Annandale Association.

“It’s with a really heavy heart that I would ask my colleagues to adjourn our meeting in honor of Betsy Nathane, who passed away this past weekend after a lengthy battle with cancer,” Madison said.

“Betsy was a dedicated community volunteer and activist advocate in West Pasadena in Linda Vista. She was the chair formerly of the city’s Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, Vice President of the Linda Vista Annandale Association, but is most well known for her yeoman-like efforts on the creation of the Linda Vista Park, taking lemons, the closure of an elementary school and turning it into lemonade by making it a city park, which it’s been now for almost two decades and it thrives as such.”

Madison detailed Nathane’s extensive professional background, noting she held bachelor’s degrees — one from Art Center College of Design and the other in communications from UDub, the University of Washington.

During her career as an art director and creative director for numerous firms over a lengthy career, including Leo Burnett, Team One and key Donna Pearlstein, she helped develop one of the most successful recruiting campaigns for the United States Army — the “An Army of One” campaign, developed to recruit young people at a time when it was very difficult to recruit people.

“Typical Betsy, when she was working on that campaign for the Army, she went through two weeks of basic training herself,” Madison said. “She said, ‘If I’m going to recruit people to do this, I should do it myself.'”

Madison also noted that Nathane helped Lexus introduce new models, did environmental work, and was one of the pioneers of advertising where it is projected on the side of a building or onto a billboard through new media. “So we’re really going to miss Betsy Nathane and it’s appropriate that we honor her by adjourning in her memory,” Madison said.

Mayor Gordo affirmed the council’s support for the memorial adjournment.

“I know that the rest of the council joins in your request and we will adjourn in memory of Betsy Nathane and her many contributions to the city. Her neighborhood and certainly to the country,” Gordo said.

Vice Mayor Jess Rivas formalized the tribute.

“We are adjourning this evening in memory of Betsy Nathane, a longtime Pasadena resident and former member of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee,” Rivas said. “So if you can please rise and give a moment of silence.”