George H. Whitney; Lawyer Active in Civic Projects
George H. Whitney, the oldest retired partner of the venerable law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who was dubbed “professional philanthropist” by his colleagues for his civic and community work, has died. He was 85.
Whitney, a founding trustee of Pitzer College of the Claremont Colleges, died Jan. 15 in Upland.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Feb. 16, 2000 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday February 16, 2000 Home Edition Part A Page 20 Metro Desk 2 inches; 44 words Type of Material: Correction
Whitney survivors--The obituary of attorney George H. Whitney in Friday’s Times omitted the name of one of his daughters in the list of survivors. She is Georgeanne Whitney, of Scottsdale, Ariz., from his marriage to Eunice Whitney, which ended in divorce in 1948. George Whitney died Jan. 15 in Upland at the age of 85.
An Upland pioneer, Whitney lived on a citrus ranch in that city from 1916, when he moved there with his parents as a toddler, until his death. He headed the Upland Planning Commission from 1951 to 1963 during the establishment of the city’s master plan.
Among his other activities in Southern California, Whitney served as a director or trustee of Good Samaritan Hospital, the California Historical Society, the Southwest Museum and the I.N. and Susanna H. Van Nuys Foundation. A bibliophile and avid reader, Whitney also served as president of the Friends of the Huntington Library and the Zamorano Club and was on the board of the Friends of the Claremont Libraries.
Whitney was elected president of the Chancery Club and was a founder and chairman of the Los Angeles County Bar Assn.’s real property section. He was also a member of the State Bar of California advisory committee on the state’s Nonprofit Corporation Law, and president of the Stanford Law Society of Southern California.
“I regarded George as a professional mentor,” current Gibson, Dunn attorney Herbert Kraus said in a statement released by Whitney’s family, “who stimulated and inspired me and his other colleagues with his unwavering integrity, his searching intelligence and brilliant insights and his incredibly wide-ranging interests.”
Whitney was on several boards of directors, including those of the San Antonio Water Co., the Trona Railway Co. and Menasco Manufacturing Co.
He was educated in private schools in Switzerland and at Claremont’s Webb School, and years later served as president of Webb Schools of California. He earned an economics degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and a law degree from Stanford.
During World War II, Whitney was a Navy air combat intelligence officer in Morocco and in the Pacific, and later held the rank of lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve.
Active in the St. Anthony Catholic Church of Upland, Whitney worked on its building and finance committees. He was designated a knight of Malta and a knight of the Holy Sepulchre.
Survivors include his wife, Isabel; two daughters, Mary Kenney and Terry Baganz; a brother, Bradford; and two grandsons.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at the San Secondo D’Asti Catholic Church, 250 N. Turner Ave., Guasti, Calif.
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