German-born nurse supported the arts; her fund continues her charitable work.
Lola G. Hanna (1911-1995)
Karoline “Lola” Geiger was born in Feuerbach, Germany, the daughter of Hans Geiger and Minna Hoffman. She was a 19-year-old nurse when she immigrated to the United States in 1930, and 32 when she married New York lawyer and businessman Oliver H. (“Pat”) Payne.
Born in Nashville, Pat attended Harvard College (class of 1923) and Harvard Law School (class of 1926). He entered practice in New York City in 1926 for Root, Clark, Buckner and Ballantine. He later practiced with De Forest, Cullom & Elder; his first marriage, to May De Forest—daughter of one of the firm’s partners—in 1931 resulted in twins, Peter and Joan, and ended in divorce in 1942.
After Lola and Pat married, they lived in Lawrence, Long Island, and Pat accepted a position as chairman of the Liberty Aircraft Products Corporation in Farmingdale, a major subcontractor for the largest aircraft producers on the East Coast, including Grumman, Fairchild, Republic, Curtiss, and Sikorsky.
The couple were involved in charitable activities, hunting, and golf. Lola raised money for the Red Cross in the Inwood-Hewlett area and was a member of the Rockaway Hunt Club of Cedarhurst and the Lawrence Beach Club.
In August 1948, they played together in the Long Island mixed foursomes golf championship at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley. Pat was hitting poorly, looked morosely at the ground, found his first four-leaf clover, and presented it to Lola. She said, “Darling, now we can’t lose.” The sports reporter wrote, she “started knocking irons right at the flag,” and they won the low net prize in a field of 70 teams.
In 1961, Pat and Lola attended a concert at Carnegie Hall but left early when Pat began to feel ill. He had a heart attack while driving. The car swerved onto the sidewalk at 54th Street and Second Avenue and tore a hole in the stucco wall of a French restaurant. He died before an ambulance arrived. Lola was taken to Grand Central Hospital with a fractured hip.
At the time of his death, Pat was a trustee of Hofstra College, and a director of Yorktown Products Corporation, which produced dietary supplements; Ponder Oils, maker of therapeutic, oil-based perfumes; and the Skillman Hardware Manufacturing Company.
In 1967, Lola married Michael Hanna of Ithaca, who, since 1940, had been general manager of two Cornell University radio stations, WHCU and WHCU-FM. He also founded and was the first instructor at Ithaca College’s radio department, and was a trustee of Ithaca College. His previous marriage ended in divorce.
The Hannas were active in charitable activities related to Ithaca College, and in 1976 it named the Park School of Communication’s the Michael and Lola G. Hanna Broadcast Center in their honor. The Michael Hanna Television-Radio Scholarship at the college is awarded to television-radio students who demonstrate outstanding promise and performance in communications management.
In 1970, they relocated to Sarasota, Florida, and became patrons of the historic jewel box theater at Florida State University now known as the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Lola was president of the Asolo Theatre Guild for many years, was on their board of directors, and coproduced yearly productions for the Asolo Theatre Company. Scholarships at FSU/Asolo are named in her honor.
Michael died in 1978. Lola died in 1995 in Sarasota, Florida.
The Lola G. Hanna Fund is unrestricted and has helped nonprofits such as Riders Alliance, Per Scholas, Workers Justice Project, and Community Food advocates.