Yvonne, Lady Cochrane (née Sursock; 18 May 1922 – 31 August 2020) was a Lebanese

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, social figure, advocate of the arts, and a member of the prominent

Sursock family The Sursock family (also spelled Sursuq) is a Greek Orthodox Christian family from Lebanon, and used to be one of the most important families of Beirut. Having originated in Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire, the family has lived in Beir ...

. She died on 31 August 2020, from injuries sustained in the Beirut explosion on 4 August 2020.

Personal life

She was born on 18 May 1922, in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. She was the only daughter of Alfred ''

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

'' Sursock, a Lebanese aristocrat, and ''Donna'' Maria Theresa Serra di Cassano, the daughter of Francesco Serra, 7th Duke of Cassano. Her father owned thousands of tracts of land which included much of

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...

, the

Western Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galile ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, and

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

. She studied at Les Oiseaux, in southern England and was fluent in Italian, French, and

Lebanese Arabic Lebanese Arabic ( ar, عَرَبِيّ لُبْنَانِيّ ; autonym: ), or simply Lebanese ( ar, لُبْنَانِيّ ; autonym: ), is a Varieties of Arabic, variety of North Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and spoken primarily in Lebano ...

. In 1946, she married Sir

Desmond Cochrane Sir Desmond Oriel Alistair George Weston Cochrane, 3rd Baronet (22 October 1918 – 12 March 1979), was an officer in the British Army and Honorary Consul-General of Ireland for Syria and Lebanon. Life and career He was the son of Sir Ernest Cec ...

, 3rd Baronet.Lady Cochrane Sursock: Information and Much More from Answers.com
/ref> When her husband's father died, the couple inherited the Woodbrook estate outside of

Bray, County Wicklow Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...

, Ireland, and moved into the home in 1952. They had three sons and a daughter. The couple separated in the 1960s, and Sir Desmond Cochrane moved to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and died in 1979. After her family sold much of the land to the newly formed Israel, she retained some properties and land in the territory and embarked on a long legal battle to have her assets released from Israel after the declaration of state. She was repeatedly turned down under the Absentee's Property Law of 1950, but with added support from the then President of Lebanon,

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC ( ar, كميل نمر شمعون, ''Kamīl Sham'ūn''; 3 April 1900 – 7 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christi ...

, in 1980 the court ruled in her favor and financial compensation for land around Jaffa and Haifa was agreed upon. At the time she was one of the richest people in Lebanon and was well known for her support of

Pierre Gemayel Pierre Amine Gemayel, also spelled Jmayyel, Jemayyel or al-Jumayyil ( ar, بيار الجميّل; 6 November 1905 – 29 August 1984), was a Lebanese political leader. A Maronite Catholic, he is remembered as the founder of the Kataeb Party ...

’s

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party ( ar, حزب الكتائب اللبنانية '), also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the lat ...

. She died in 2020, 27 days after sustaining injuries from the explosion in the Beirut port on August 4, 2020. Her children and grandchildren accepted a wreath and a posthumous National Order of the Cedar medal from a representative of the Lebanese president.

Philanthropy

She was president of the committee and general manager of the

Sursock Museum The Sursock Museum ( ar, قصر سرسق), which is officially known as the Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, is a modern art and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon. History In 1912, the wealthy and prominent Lebanese aristocrat Nicolas Ib ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

from 1960 until 1966. She founded the Association for the Protection of the Natural Sites and Ancient Buildings (French: ''Association pour la protection des sites et anciennes demeures''; APSAD) in Lebanon and was its president from 1960 until 2002. Her work focused on projects that seek to reduce Lebanese emigration and to support people in their villages of origin, by creating jobs for them in the fields of agriculture, textiles and handcrafts. She was also involved in the protection of the natural environment in Lebanon and in the preservation of the country's unique architectural and cultural heritage. She was the owner of

Sursock Palace Sursock Palace (French: ''Palais Sursock''), is a grand residence located on Rue Sursock in the city of Beirut in Lebanon. The palace, which was completed in 1860 by Moïse Sursock, was owned by Lady Cochrane Sursock, an advocate of preserving hi ...

, plus a broad swath of property along

Rue Sursock Rue Sursock is a historic street in the Rmeil district of Beirut in Lebanon. Named after one of Beirut's most prominent families, the Sursock family, the street is home to many of Beirut's beautiful historic mansions that were built in the 18th a ...

, up to the trendy

Rue Gouraud Rue Gouraud () is a mixed residential and commercial street in Gemmayzeh, a neighborhood in the Rmeil district of Beirut in Lebanon. It is named after French General Henri Gouraud. Gemmayze, and Rue Gouraud specifically, and competes with th ...

.Gemmayzeh : is the quarter becoming 'less and less convivial'?
/ref>

Personal life

Philanthropy

References

Further reading