Lurline Matson Roth
| Lurline Matson Roth | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 3, 1890 San Francisco, California |
| Died | September 4, 1985 Burlingame, California |
| Residence |
Filoli Why Worry Farm |
| Education | Miss Hamlin's |
| Spouse(s) | William M. Roth |
| Children |
William M. Roth Lurline Coonan Berenice Roth Spalding |
| Parent(s) |
William Matson Lillie Berenice Low |
| Relatives | Charles F. Spalding (son-in-law) |
Lurline Matson Roth (1890–1985) was an American heiress, equestrian and philanthropist from San Francisco, California. She competed in horse shows in the United States, and bred award-winning horses. She donated her estate, Filoli, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Born Lurline Berenice Matson on September 3, 1890 in San Francisco, California. She was named Lurline after sugar magnate Claus Spreckels's yacht. Her father, William Matson, was the Swedish-American founder of Matson, Inc., a shipping corporation. As such she was an heiress to the Matson fortune. Her mother was Lillie Berenice (Low) Matson (1864–1930). She had two older brothers, Walter Joseph (1877–1926) and Theodore William Matson (1883–1936). The family wintered in a rented house in San Francisco and summered in a house near Mills College.
She was educated at Miss Hamlin's, a private all-girl school in San Francisco, where she studied music and art.
She competed in horse shows every year and won national medals.
In 1924, her mother purchased the Why Worry Farm in Woodside for Lurline, where she bred horses. She owned a five-gaited horse, a three-gaited horse, a Standardbred road horse, a Hackney horse, a Hackney pony and a jumper and hired a trainer, thus turning it into a show stable. After she stopped competing, her horses won many equestrian awards. Two of her best-known American Saddlebred horses were Chief of Longview (born at Longview Farm in Lee's Summit, Missouri) and Sweetheart on Parade.
During World War II, she volunteered for the American Red Cross. A decade later, in 1964, she renovated Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco with her son. The renovation cost US$10 million.
In 1975, she donated Filoli to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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