Mary Hamilton, 61; Founded Glendale Investment Firm

Mary N. Hamilton, 61, a longtime Glendale community leader who was twice elected as a trustee of the Glendale Community College District, died of cancer on Monday.

Hamilton founded a successful Glendale investment counseling firm, which is now part of Clifford Associates, the oldest investment firm in the United States.

She served as president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce and the Verdugo Hills Business and Professional Women. She also served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Glendale Memorial Hospital, UniHealth Foundation and California American Women’s Economic Development Corp.

Among the many local organizations she founded or helped form was the Women’s Information Network of the Glendale Memorial Hospital, the Glendale Teen Center and the Hispanic Business and Professional Organization.

She also was president of the YWCA Hamilton Court Housing Corp., a low-cost housing and shelter for abused women named in her honor.

Born in Charlottesville, Va., Hamilton grew up in Glendale. She earned a business degree from USC.