June Rockwell Levy (1886-1971) was an American philanthropist who was inducted into the
Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame alongside her husband in 1999. In 1963, she received the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
from Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
. She was known as the "First Lady of Burrillville."
Biography
June Rockwell Levy was born on June 14, 1886, in
Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1891, she moved with her family to
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England.
The population of ...
. She studied in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
and at
Rosemary Hall, later going to the
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
. Due to a sickness, she was unable to receive a degree from the school. She was a Trustee of
Lincoln School, Chair of the
Providence Art Club's Ladies Board, President of the Providence Garden Club, and Northwest Community Healthcare (which she would serve 51 consecutive terms as president of). She funded
Burrillville, Rhode Island's Town Hall, high school, library, community theater, public health nursing buildings and an indoor ice‐skating rink.
The June Rockwell Levy Foundation was created in honor of her in 1947. In addition to funding scholarships to the
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...
and
University of Brandeis, the foundation donated extensively to medical establishments. The University of Rhode Island awarded Levy an honorary degree.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, June Rockwell
1971 deaths
1886 births
American women philanthropists
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Philanthropists from Rhode Island
People from Brooklyn
Rhode Island School of Design alumni
Philanthropists from New York (state)
20th-century American philanthropists
People from Bristol, Rhode Island
20th-century women philanthropists