Norfolk artist's frugal life leads to surprise $1M gift

NORFOLK

A lot of people knew Julia Bristow as the woman who loved butterflies.

She planted her own garden with an eye toward attracting the fairylike beauties. And years ago she donated the money to establish a 2-acre butterfly haven at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

What some might not know is that Bristow also wanted to help young people find their wings.

Bristow, who died in May at the age of 85, wasn't wealthy. But the longtime civilian employee invested wisely and saved carefully. Now, thanks to her fiscal prudence, she has left a $1 million gift to the Hampton Roads Community Foundation that, over time, will help hundreds of Norfolk and Eastern Shore students go to college, said Sally Hartman, a spokeswoman for the organization.

Bristow was helped decades ago with scholarships when she went to college, and she wanted to do the same for someone else, a close family member said.

She believed education was the most important gift she could give someone, said the relative, who did not want to be quoted in honor of Bristow's wishes to leave the gift with little fanfare.

Like others in her family, Bristow was devoted to learning.

Her father was principal of Maury High School from 1920 to 1950. Her mother had been a teacher.

Bristow graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the College of William and Mary in the 1940s. She was a history major, a subject that continued to intrigue her throughout her life - as so many things did.

She took courses well into her 70s at Old Dominion University and continued traveling and learning as a participant in educational programs designed for retirees.

She never married or had children but was a woman of many talents.

Over the years, she worked as a writer and editor for the Navy and was also a professional painter, Hartman said.

Bristow's art is one of the things that Patricia Rawls remembers about her Norfolk neighbor and friend.

Watercolors covered the walls, gallery-style, in Bristow's home, recalled Rawls.

There was an English feel to the house, she said. Nothing ostentatious, just a warm fire and a comfortable feeling. And good company.

"She was fascinating," Rawls said. She was a genteel Southern lady who also had a "real backbone to her," Rawls said.

"She talked about so many different topics - and in depth," she said. "There was never a dull moment around her."

Rawls first met the older woman when they worked together on the committee that set up the gift shop at the botanical garden.

Bristow was the book buyer for the shop.

Rawls said she knew Bristow had given money to start the butterfly garden but never heard her talk about the scholarship fund she planned to leave behind.

David Liebman, a naturalist, recalled walking through the Norfolk Botanical Garden's grounds with Bristow to find the perfect spot for the butterfly garden.

They selected an area where the largest variety of plants would grow to nurture butterflies in all their stages, he said.

"She was very concerned about butterflies losing habitat because of so much construction," he said.

Hartman said she didn't know Bristow well. But she remembers meeting her at a luncheon for the Legacy Society, a group of individuals who have made arrangements for future gifts to the community through the foundation.

It was held at the botanical garden, and, after lunch, everyone was taken on a tram tour of the grounds. Bristow asked the driver to stop so she could get off when the tram got to the butterfly garden, she recalled.

Hartman said she can still see Bristow exiting, a small straw hat perched on her head, setting off to check on her garden of wings.

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com