Pauline Hume, marriage counselor and arts advocate, has died

DOWNEY — Pauline Hume, a longtime supporter and advocate for cultural arts in Downey, has died.

In a Facebook post, Floyd Ellsworth Riggle Jr. said Hume died Sunday of congestive heart failure.

“Pauline was a grand lady who made this planet a whole lot better for a lot of us,” Riggle wrote in the post. “She was a gifted singer, performed many outstanding roles on the Downey stage, and was president at one time of the Downey Symphony.”

Pauline Hume was the wife of John Hume, who is credited with the creation of the Downey Children’s Theatre, and later, was instrumental in the construction of the Downey Civic Theatre.

The Downey Arts Coalition called Pauline Hume “a Downey icon” who “continued to advocate for the arts in Downey over the years.”

In her professional life, Pauilne Hume was a marriage and family counselor with an office in Downey.