Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Margaret MCGRATH
NEW YORK -- Margaret McGrath Rockefeller, a conservationist and wife of philanthropist David Rockefeller who worked to preserve farmland and the rugged Maine coast, died Tuesday at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. She was 80.
The cause was complications from heart surgery, said Fraser P. Seitel, a family spokesman.
Mrs. Rockefeller was a founding board member of the American Farmland Trust, a national land-preservation group. She was a trustee of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and served for many years on the board of the New York Botanical Garden. A rose garden at the Bronx Botanical Garden carries her name.
She founded the Maine Coast Heritage Trust in 1970, which has since conserved more than 66,000 acres in the state, including 173 islands and 250 miles of shoreline.
The Rockefellers first bought several farms in Columbia County in 1979 and 1980, and were among the largest private landowners in the Hudson Valley. In 1992, the couple announced an agreement to permanently protect nearly 2,000 acres of their upstate property.
In recent years, Mrs. Rockefeller developed a strong interest in raising cattle and maintained working farms at her homes in Tarrytown and Livingston in New York and on Bartlett Island, Maine.
A New York native, she met Rockefeller in the early 1930s. He often consulted her before making important decisions, and they also shared a lifelong love of sailing and dancing.
| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Return to The Pennocks of Primitive Hall website.
The information in this database may contain errors. If you find any questionable data, or if you have something to add my findings, please feel free to e-mail me by clicking on the "E-MAIL" link above. Thank you!
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 07 July 2020