Pauline Agatha Layer
Nov. 13, 1938-May 27, 2023
Woodside, California

Pauline “Polly” Agatha Layer died peacefully in Redwood City, CA at the age of 84. Beloved wife of Harold “Hal” Layer for 58 years, loving mother to Christine & Eric Layer & “Abuelita” to Odin & Lilyrose Palen, daughter of Harry & Pauline Pierson (deceased), devoted cousin to many, and a gracious neighbor and great friend to all.

A longtime resident of the Bay Area, she graduated from San Francisco’s Presentation High School in 1956, returned to the city to raise her family in the West Portal district, and later spent her autumn years in Redwood City.

Born in Paris, 'Polly' always had an affinity for the city of love, as evidenced by her extensive collection of Eiffel towers. Growing up, she lived in several parts of the world with her American State Department father and Colombian mother, including New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Bangkok, where she taught music.

Polly met her future husband Hal at Indiana University, Bloomington, when she 'accidentally' dropped her ID card passing by him in the dining hall. She studied elementary education & music. Her first teaching job was in a two-room country schoolhouse in Brown County, Indiana. 

Relocating to San Francisco in 1963, she worked at West Portal Elementary as a teacher’s aide and Spanish teacher. Later she taught Spanish at The Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park.

Polly helped shape a better San Francisco by volunteering for many years on the governing boards of both San Francisco Tomorrow (SFT) and The Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association (GWPNA). She continued her neighborhood support when she moved to Redwood City.

Polly was a kind and generous soul with many interests. A former opera singer, she returned to her passion as a member of the choral group the Clef Hangers in the Peninsula. She enjoyed the arts and never missed a visiting exhibition at the De Young or a ballet or local theatre performance. Polly also loved ballroom dancing (joining the BUC Club with Hal for their monthly dances), reading novels, gardening, and cooking for friends and family.

She enjoyed speaking Spanish and connecting to her mother’s Latin roots by keeping in touch with her relatives in Colombia & Ecuador. She was a lover of historic home & garden tours, games, and crossword puzzles. But, most of all, she loved to laugh.

Polly possessed many talents and interests, but her greatest asset was making the world more beautiful just by being in it.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a charity of your choice that best represents her dedication to childhood education, a better community, or the arts.

Tags: teacher/educator