Alice Marriott

Infobox Person
name = Alice Sheets Marriott


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birth_date = October 19, 1907
birth_place = Salt Lake City, Utah
death_date = April 17, 2000
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education = Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, University of Utah
occupation = Restaurateur, Philanthropist
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spouse = J. Willard Marriott
parents = Alice Taylor and Edwin Spencer Sheets
children = sons J. W. Marriott, Jr. and Richard E. Marriott
nationality = American
website =

Alice Sheets Marriott (October 19, 1907 - April 17, 2000) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She was married to J. Willard Marriott, founder of the hospitality company Marriott Corp.

Early life and career

Marriott graduated with honors from the University of Utah in 1927 at age 19. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Chi Omega sorority. She married J. Willard Marriott in the Salt Lake Temple on June 9, 1927. [ [http://www.lib.utah.edu/libraryinfo/donating/AliceSheetsMarriott.html Biography of Alice Sheets Marriott] ]

In 1927, Alice worked as a bookkeeper with her husband at a root beer stand they both started. After introducing a Mexican-themed menu, the stand was renamed The Hot Shoppe and several more were opened. Alice and her husband opened their first motel, the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Va., in 1957. This one motel grew into a chain of Marriott hotels. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804EFDD1131F933A15757C0A9669C8B63 Alice S. Marriott, 92, Matriarch of Hotel Family] ]

Later life

Marriott served two ten year terms on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She was also vice chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1965 to 1976, and honorary chairman of the 1973 Richard Nixon inaugural committee.

Legacy

Marriott provided endowments to educational institutions. In 1988 she provided funds for the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. The University of Utah opened the Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance, which houses the University's departments of Modern Dance and Ballet, on September 25, 1989. [ [http://www.dance.utah.edu/acdfa/facilities.html Marriott Center for Dance] ]

Family

Marriott's mother Alice Taylor Sheets married U.S. Senator Reed Smoot on 2 July 1930 after both of them had been widowed. [http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/s/SMOOT,REED.html Utah History Encyclopedia]

References