Louise Manoogian Simone (May 19, 1933 – February 18, 2019) was an

Armenian American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...

philanthropist. She was president of the

Armenian General Benevolent Union The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ ...

(AGBU) from 1989 to 2002.

Life

Louise Manoogian was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Her father Alex Manoogian, an immigrant from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, founded

Masco Masco Corporation is an American manufacturer of products for the home improvement and new home construction markets. Comprising more than 20 companies, the Masco conglomerate operates nearly 60 manufacturing facilities in the United States and ...

in 1929 and became wealthy after developing the one-handed

faucet A tap (also spigot or faucet: see #Nomenclature, usage variations) is a valve controlling the release of a liquid or gas. Nomenclature United Kingdom * Tap is used in the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth ...

in the 1950s. Alex Manoogian was fifth president of the AGBU and a philanthropist for Detroit civic causes and Armenian political and cultural causes. She was on the AGBU's central council for eight years before succeeding her father as its president. She organized AGBU

disaster relief Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

after the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

. In 1962, her parents established the Louise Manoogian Simone Foundation, which was later renamed the Manoogian Simone Foundation. In 2007 it donated $1.2m to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

's Armenian Studies program. In 1979 Simone served a term on the Council of the Eastern U.S. Prelacy of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, the first woman in such a senior position. Simone and her brother Richard Manoogian contributed $2m in 2000 towards the construction of

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral ( hy, Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ մայր եկեղեցի, ''Surb Grigor Lusavorich mayr yekeghetsi''), also known as the Yerevan Cathedral is the largest cathedral of the Armenian Apo ...

Personal life

Louise Manoogian married Arman Simone and lived in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Simone had a daughter, Christine, and two sons, David and Marc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simone, Louise Manoogian 1933 births 2019 deaths American people of Armenian descent Philanthropists from Michigan Philanthropists from New York (state) Armenian Apostolic Christians People from Detroit People from Manhattan Presidents of the Armenian General Benevolent Union 20th-century American philanthropists