Hallie Ford

Infobox Person
name = Hallie Ford


imagesize = 140px
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1905|3|17|mf=y
birth_place = Red Fork, Oklahoma
death_date = death date and age|2007|6|4|1905|3|17
death_place = Monmouth, Oregon
education = East Central University
employer = Roseburg Forest Products
boards =
religion =
occupation = Philanthropist
spouse = Kenneth W. Ford

Hallie Brown Ford (March 17 1905 - June 4 2007) was an American business person and philanthropist. A native of Oklahoma, she acquired her wealth in Oregon through the timber industry. As a philanthropist she made donations to many institutions in Oklahoma and Oregon to support education and the arts. Hallie Ford Museum of Art and several other institutions at Willamette University in Oregon are named in her honor, as are several items at her alma mater East Central University in Oklahoma.

Early life

Hallie Brown was born in Red Fork, Oklahoma, on March 17 1905.Much, Justin. Philanthropist gave to variety of causes. "Statesman Journal", June 13 2007.] At the time it was Indian Territory, with Oklahoma becoming a state in 1907.East Central University benefactor Hallie Brown Ford dies in Oregon. US States News, June 11 2007.] She attended Beggs High School where she was valedictorian. She worked her way through college at East Central State Normal School (now East Central University) in the town of Ada. There she earned a teaching certificate and a bachelor’s degree in 1930. After college she began teaching in Oklahoma.

Oregon

She moved to Lebanon, Oregon with her parents and began teaching in that area during the Great Depression. She met Kenneth Ford there, and the two married in 1935. After their marriage they moved to the Roseburg, Oregon, area where they started and ran the Roseburg Lumber Company (now Roseburg Forest Products Company). They had a daughter, Carmen, and a son, Allyn. In 1957, with her husband, she helped found the charitable organization that became the Ford Family Foundation. In 1959, she worked with artist Harry Widman on a 200-plus piece art exhibit for Oregon's Centennial in Roseburg. [Cowan, Ron. Layers of knowledge. "Statesman Journal", August 20 2006.] In Roseburg she was a civic leader, and was given the First Citizens Award in 1967 by the local chamber of commerce.

Later years and philanthropy

Hallie moved to Salem, Oregon in 1972. In 1975, she became a member of the board of trustees at Willamette University in Salem. In 1992 her alma mater, East Central University, named her as a distinguished alumni. The Fords' charity created the Ford Scholars Program scholarships for Oregon students in 1993.Walker, Charles L. [http://www.nwrel.org/nwedu/winter_98/article8.html Investing in People.] "NW Education", Winter 1998. Retrieved December 15 2007.] She then started the Ford Opportunity Scholarship Program in 1995 for single parents. [School briefs Gresham outdoor school fund-raiser: Gresham-Barlow. "The Oregonian", June 27 2002.] Ford became a lifetime member of the board of trustees at Willamette in 1996, and received the Governor of Oregon's Arts Award for Arts Patronage. That year her charitable foundation became the Ford Family Foundation. [ [http://www.tfff.org/main/AboutUs/tabid/53/Default.aspx About Us.] The Ford Family Foundation. Retrieved December 15 2007.] Her husband Kenneth died on February 8 1997. [ [http://www.rfpco.com/pdfs/Ford_wood.pdf Special Edition: Roseburg Woodsman.] Roseburg Forest Products. Retrieved on December 15 2007.] In 2002, she moved to an assisted living facility in Monmouth, Oregon.

In 2006, Ford donated an additional $8 million to Willamette University, the largest single donation in that school's history.Kim, Eunice. Willamette University plans academic building on State St. "Statesman Journal", November 23 2007.] In May 2007, Hallie Ford donated $15 million to the Pacific Northwest College of Art, the largest donation in that school's history.Libby, Brian. PNCA Receives $15 Million Gift. "Portland Architecture", May 22 2007.] The donation would primarily be used for a visiting artists program. This donation to the college was the largest donation to any cultural group in Oregon's history. [Deaths elsewhere. "The Houston Chronicle", June 9 2007.] Also that month she was given the Distinguished Philanthropist Award by East Central University.

Given before her death, but announced after her passing was an $8 million donation to Oregon State University, the alma mater of her daughter Carmen Ford Phillips.Wood, Shelby. OSU gets $8 million to help state families. "The Oregonian", June 15 2007.] [Gifts and Bequests. "The Chronicle of Philanthropy", June 29 2007. GAZETTE; Pg. 45 Vol. 53 No. 43.] The gift went toward the Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families as part of the school's College of Health and Human Sciences. [Museum Gets $12-Million; Other New Donations. "The Chronicle of Higher Education", June 28 2007. GIVING; Pg. 17 Vol. 19 No. 18.]

Death and legacy

Hallie Ford died on June 4 2007 in Monmouth, Oregon, at the age of 102 after a brief illness. Ford Hall at Willamette University (scheduled for completion in 2009) is named in her honor, as is the school's English and literature endowed professorship. At East Central University the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center and the Hallie Brown Ford Award for Philanthropy honor her legacy at the school where she donated approximately $7 million over the years.

References

External links

* [http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2007/06/15/news/top_story/3aaa01_donation.txt Corvallis Gazette Times coverage of OSU donation]
* [http://www.newsreview.info/article/20070607/OBITS/70607049 Obituary of Hallie Ford]
* [http://www.osualum.com/s/359/file_lib/1/17/200708Stater_giving_back_633240681003917724.pdf Hallie Ford’s legacyfor Oregon’s children] - "Oregon Stater"