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Polly Raffel Stanbridge <br/> December 30, 1944 - May 14, 2014

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Polly lived a full and enriching life. She can best be described as a free spirit. Always engaged, enthusiastic and caring for all things around her, both animate and inanimate.

Polly was born to her beloved parents, Sidney and Yvonne and grew up with her four sisters: Linda, Gail, Cynthia and Emily. A remarkably tight knit and loving family, they remained close for all of her days.

Polly met her husband Eric at Stanford University and they were married in 1971. Their two children, Helena and Andrew, have been the center of their lives. Her life of caring and compassion for others is attested to by all who have met her. Polly called her family “gypsies”. The whole family would travel throughout the world, making friends wherever they went.

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She was especially fond of children and spent as much time as she could, not only with her family’s children, but also sharing cups of tea and her garden with the neighborhood kids, volunteering with youth at the Shalimar Center, and pulling toys out of the cupboards for any friends who stopped by with grandchildren.

Polly’s two major loves, beyond her family and friends, were her art and nature. She combined these two by painting many natural scenes and in cultivating a magnificent English garden (in Southern California!).

She will be remembered by all who knew and loved her for a very long time.

Her family asks that in lieu of flowers to please donate to the ALS Association in Polly’s honor.

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