Ella Florence Fondren (née Cockrum; June 1, 1880 – May 3, 1982) was a philanthropist to hospitals and institutions of higher learning.

Early life

Ella Florence Fondren was born on June 1, 1880, to Allen Cathy and Mary (Pogue) Cochrum in Hazel, Kentucky. She grew up in

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busines ...

. After the death of her father in 1895, she left school to care for the family and work in their boardinghouse. On February 14, 1904, she married Walter W. Fondren, an oil worker.

Philanthropy

Walter Fondren worked in oil fields along the Gulf corridor in Texas, but focused his attention on the Humble fields while co-founding the Humble Oil Company. The couple worked together in philanthropy until his death in 1939. Ella assumed some of Walter's directorships, continuing a long relationship with

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

by taking a seat on its board of trustees and governors, a position that she held for three decades. She served on the Methodist Board of Homes and Hospitals for twenty years. Fondren found new beneficiaries for her wealth. Her family granted $1 million for the Walter W. Fondren Library at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

in 1946. Two years later she created the Fondren Foundation, which supported education and hospitals. The Foundation granted funding for capital projects at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Scarritt College Scarritt College (founded in 1878 at Neosho, Missouri) began as the Neosho Male and Female Seminary. In 1887 it was reconstituted as the Scarritt Collegiate Institute. History Opening its doors on September 2, 1878, the school's first home was ins ...

, while donating money to Southern Methodist University for a science building and for scholarships. The foundation facilitated the expansions of Methodist and St. Luke's Hospitals in Houston. Fondren was a trustee for

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...

, Scaritt College, and the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...

Death and legacy

Fondren died on 3 May 1982 in Houston after living for over a century. She is interred at Forest Park Cemetery in Houston. Fondren Road in Houston was named in honor of the family.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fondren, Ella Florence 1880 births 1982 deaths People from Corsicana, Texas People from Houston American antiquarians American centenarians People from Calloway County, Kentucky 20th-century American philanthropists Women centenarians Historians from Texas 20th-century antiquarians