June
Rockwell Levy
possessed a storehouse of energy, even while enduring serious illnesses
over the last twenty years of her life. During her lifetime she touched
almost every corner of Rhode Island with her generosity.
She
was born June 14, 1886 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Her family moved to Bristol,
R.I., in 1891. She studied at Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, Conn., Lincoln
School in Providence, and a private school in Paris. She took courses
at the Rhode Island School of Design and was an accomplished amateur
artist, often using her original drawings for Christmas cards.
Although
prevented by ill health from obtaining a college degree, Mrs. Levy
was cited at the 1959 Brown University Convocation, and received an
honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Rhode Island
in 1967.
A
world traveler, Mrs. Levy found time to serve as a Trustee of Lincoln
School, Chair of the Providence Art Club's Ladies Board, and President
of the Providence Garden Club, the latter honoring her for a half
century of membership.
One
of her most cherished associations was with the Burrillville-Glocester
District Nursing Association and its successor, Northwest Community
Health Care, of which she served as President for 51 consecutive terms.
Virtually
every Rhode Island hospital, college and university has benefited
from gifts from the June Rockwell Levy Foundation, created in her
honor by her husband in 1947. Scholarships at the University of Rhode
Island and Brandeis were provided through her generosity.
In
1963 she received "The Order of the British Empire" from Queen Elizabeth
II in recognition of her contributions and those of her late husband
to the welfare and economy of the Bahamas, including the "Levy Medical
and Health Center".
Mrs.
Levy died on August 8, 1971 at the age of 85. The funeral was private:
she was buried alongside her husband beneath a granite stone at the
rear of the Assembly, the performing arts center in Harrisville the
couple had given to the town.
During a discussion with a Woonsocket Call reporter about her life
and charitable work she noted that "My greatest hobby was the same
as my husband's—people."