Lois Rosenthal (May 18, 1939 – July 20, 2014) was an American author, publisher, arts & humanities philanthropist, and community volunteer. She was based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. She served on the boards of the

Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a regional theatre in the United States. It was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that pr ...

Freestore Foodbank The Freestore Foodbank is the largest emergency food and services provider to children and families in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. Background The organization distributes 24 million meals annually to low-income indi ...

, Art Links,

Cincinnati Museum Center The Cincinnati Museum Center is a museum complex operating out of the Cincinnati Union Terminal in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It houses museums, theater, a library, and a symphonic pipe organ, as well as special traveling e ...

, and the

Mercantile Library of Cincinnati The Mercantile Library of Cincinnati is a membership library located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The name of the library refers not to the type of items in its collection but to the forty-five merchants and clerks who founded it on April 18, 183 ...

. She was known for her hands-on philosophy of service in her community and was named Enquirer Woman of the Year in 1999 by ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alth ...

''.

Early life and education

Lois Rosenthal was born May 18, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio and she grew up in largely Jewish neighborhood of South Avondale. Her family owned Bilker's, a successful family-owned neighborhood

Kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

grocery and delicatessen in Cincinnati. She attended classes at Avondale School, is a graduate of

Walnut Hills High School , streetaddress = 3250 Victory Parkway , city = Cincinnati , state = Ohio , zipcode = 45207 , country = United States , coordinates = , type ...

. She held a B.A. in Economics and Pre-Law (class of 1960) from

The University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. At the age of 20, she married on December 20, 1959 to Richard H. Rosenthal. Lois made her career working closely with her husband at their family-owned publishing business,

F&W Publications F+W, (formerly F+W Publications and F+W Media), was a media and e-commerce company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1913, F+W published magazines, books, digital products (including e-books and e-magazines), produced online video, offer ...

, working there for over 40 years. Her husband ran the publishing end of specialty books and magazines, and she edited ''

Story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

'', a magazine focused on new fiction. The Rosenthals sold the business in December 1999 to concentrate on their charitable foundation.

Early philanthropy

In 1988 Lois and Richard Rosenthal established the New Play Prize at the

. The prize, which funds full production of a new play each year, has become one of the most important theater honors in the U.S. The 2003 production of

Carson Kreitzer Carson Kreitzer is an American playwright currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1991 with a B.A. in theatre and literature and an M.F.A. from the Michener Center for Writers at the Univer ...

's ''The Love Song of

J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is often ...

'', epitomizes the emerging art this prize makes possible. In the 1970s as a

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

board member, she worked as a patient escort and guided young women through crowds of protesters. She worked for the benefit of exotic animals and brought education programs to the

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the sixth oldest zoo in the United States, founded in 1873 and officially opening in 1875. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It originally began with in the middle of the c ...

. Her work on behalf of California lettuce field workers led to a friendship with union leader

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

Rosenthal Family Foundation

She and her husband, Richard H. Rosenthal established the Rosenthal Family Foundation in 1986. Lois launched the Rosey Reader Program in 1993, which distributes free books to inner-city schools. In 10 years of the Rosey Reader Program, more than 2 million books were read by students. Through the foundation in 1999, they donated $6 million towards the $35.7M

Contemporary Arts Center The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is a contemporary art museum in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the first contemporary art institutions in the United States. The CAC is a non-collecting museum that focuses on new developments in painting, sculptur ...

(CAC), built in downtown Cincinnati, which is one of the museums largest donations. The CAC building was designed by celebrated architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

the center has become a mecca for emerging artists and patrons in the mid-west. In recognition for their contribution and deep involvement in its creation, the center was named The Lois and Richard Rosenthal CAC. The Rosenthal Family Foundation made a $2.15 million grant in 2003 to the

to make admission to the

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

art museum permanently free to all. The foundation also made a $300,000 gift to the

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, based on the history of the Underground Railroad. Opened in 2004, the Center also pays tribute to all efforts to "abolish human enslavement and secure fre ...

to sponsor the

Eternal Flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

of Freedom at the center, which graces the

Cincinnati riverfront The Banks is a mixed-use development and neighborhood along the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the land between Paycor Stadium and Great American Ball Park. History The construction for a new riverfront area between the two stadiums is the r ...

. Together with her husband, Lois co-founded the

Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Chris ...

(RIJ) in 2004, based at the

University of Cincinnati School of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously running law school in the United States — after Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Yale — and the first in ...

, to "harness the idealism, energy and intellect of law students, turning those qualities into a vehicle for positive social and legal change in Cincinnati, the state of Ohio, and beyond." The couple also founded

Uptown Arts Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...

, an

Over-the-Rhine Over-the-Rhine (often abbreviated as OTR) is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Historically, Over-the-Rhine has been a working-class neighborhood. It is among the largest, most intact urban historic districts in the United State ...

arts academy that offers free lessons to 300 inner-city children each year in such disciplines as art, music and dance.http://www.cincinnati.com/womenofyear/lois.html Uptown arts is housed in a restored three-story, Liberty Street building that also houses the Rosenthal Family Foundation. With her husband, she co-founded the

Rosenthal Next Generation Theater Series Rosenthal is a German and Jewish surname meaning "rose valley". Notable people with the name include: A * Abe M. Rosenthal (1922–2006), ''New York Times'' editor and columnist *Albert Rosenthal (1863–1939), American portrait artist * Albert ...

at the

which introduces children to plays. Her work at the Cincinnati

enables distribution of fresh foods to the needy. In their effort to fund emerging artists, she and her husband sponsored a ballet called ''Blue Until June'' that was choreographed to the music of

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Awards

She was the National Magazine Award, 1992 and 1995 (finalist five times). In 1997 she was awarded the YWCA's Career Woman of Achievement. She was named Enquirer Woman of the Year in 1999 by ''

''. In 2008, both Lois and her husband were awarded

Honorary Doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of Humane Letters from the University of Cincinnati, for their patronage and philanthropy for the city of Cincinnati.

Death and legacy

She died on July 20, 2014 at the age of 75. A memorial was held for her in September 2014 at the Marx Theater at The Playhouse in the Park in Cincinnati. She was survived by her husband Richard, and their children Jennie Rosenthal Berliant and David Rosenthal and many grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Lois 2014 deaths People from Cincinnati Arts in Cincinnati 1939 births 20th-century American philanthropists