Tribute to Antonia Hunter Breck

All of us at the Garden Conservancy were deeply saddened to hear of the death of our board member Antonia Hunter Breck on February 21, 2018. Toni was a bright star in the Garden Conservancy constellation, always had the most positive attitude, and was quick to take up any challenge, personal as well as professional. Through her firm Hunter-Breck Designs, she designed both interior and garden spaces with exquisite taste and finesse. She also generously devoted time to her family, friends, and numerous nonprofits, including the Garden Conservancy. Toni was an avid gardener and hiker and was happiest when walking among the wildflowers in the mountains surrounding Sun Valley, Idaho.

Toni became a member of the Garden Conservancy’s Society of Fellows in 2007 and joined our board of directors in June of 2013. She accomplished much, serving as chair of the board’s Development Committee, member of the board’s recent Search Committee to select a new president and CEO, member of the West Coast Council, and member of the 25th Anniversary Celebration Committee. Toni shared her parents’ Thomas Church garden in Woodside, California, where she grew up, with several Fellows garden-study tours. She was a key organizer of a Garden Conservancy party at Green Gables in 2011 and spearheaded planning for our 2017 Sun Valley garden-study tour, hosting tour participants at her lovely house and garden during the tour itself.  

We have all lost a wonderful friend. Our thoughts are with her family during this time.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, with a reception to follow. See also the San Francisco Chronicle obituary from March 4, 2018.

Photo by Hilary Hood