Lasting Memories

Polly Fuller
Aug. 4, 1923-Oct. 28, 2016
Menlo Park, California

Mrs. Mary “Polly” Bryan Fuller passed away peacefully at her home in Menlo Park, California, on Friday, October 28, 2016, at the age of 93 with two of her three sons at her side.

A lifelong Virginian no matter where she lived, Polly was born August 4, 1923, in Petersburg, VA, the third child of Corbin Braxton Bryan Jr. and Alice Kent Bryan.

She graduated from high school at St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA, with honors, and then enrolled at William & Mary in Williamsburg, where she embraced the sorority life in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

In 1946 she met and married a Marine officer, Regan Fuller, and began to build a family of three sons. As a Marine wife, Polly was challenged with multiple deployments that included assignments in Virginia, North Carolina, Japan, Hawaii, and California.

She was unable to accompany him for assignments in Palestine, Okinawa, Korea, and two tours in Vietnam, but approached each assignment with boundless energy and enthusiasm, always ensuring that a warm and nurturing home was to be found by all by the end of the day.

Her knack for organizing, her social grace, and her unassuming compassion were always in full evidence throughout her life.

Polly moved to the Bay Area upon the retirement of her husband, then Brigadier General Regan Fuller, USMC (deceased) after a 31-year career.

Initially they lived in Palo Alto and attended St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where Polly focused her considerable energy, compassion, and organizational talent in many capacities, including the creation of a memorial garden, and the sponsorship of a Vietnamese refugee family of 13.

With the death of Regan in 1978, Polly moved to Menlo Park and eventually joined the congregation at Trinity Episcopal Church, where she again brought her considerable talent for getting things done to bear in many roles, especially the Altar Guild.

With a passion for gardening, she was also twice president of the Palo Alto Garden Club in the 1990s, and was an active contributor to the Gamble Garden.

In her spare time, she supported the Colonial Dames by working as a Docent at the Octagon House in San Francisco. She tutored adults struggling to learn English and once assisted a young couple with getting U.S. citizenship.

She made and delivered meals for families in need, ran rummage sales, coordinated all manner of events and still found time to be a most outstanding and attentive mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Since 2008, Polly has suffered several medical setbacks, but was able to overcome most of them, soldiering on with her characteristic strength and optimism. Her large and supportive family, along with Pathways Hospice Services at the end, were able to give her the support she needed to be able to live out her life in the comfort and security of her beloved home.

Polly's older brother, Second Lieutenant C. Braxton Bryan III, USMCR was killed in World War II on Okinawa. Her older sister, Alice Bryan Juhan, died in 2012. She is survived by three sons, Regan Fuller Jr. (Lori) of Mountain View CA, Braxton Fuller (Janet) of Rio Vista .CA, and Jonathan Fuller of Menlo Park CA, brother Jonathan Bryan (Judy) of Alexandria, VA, grandchildren Justin Fuller (Melissa) of Midlothian, IL, Kaelenn Fuller of Salt Lake City UT, Travis Fuller of Salt Lake City, UT, Regan Robert Fuller (Tracy) of San Jose, CA, and Andrew Fuller (Lauren Fendrick) of Mountain View CA; great grandchildren Alicia Rose Fuller-Nerney of Salt Lake City, Gavin Fuller of Midlothian, IL, Charlie, Abbey and Grace Antoniazzi of Midlothian, IL, Regan Lee Fuller of San Jose CA ... as well as the legions of nieces, nephews, cousins, Godchildren, and dear friends whom she dearly loved and whose hearts she has touched so deeply.