It was simple a marvelous time spending the morning and afternoon at Elsie Hillman's Celebration of Life at a full Calvary Episcopal Church and Carnegie Art Museum yesterday before the Pitt Game? Pitt and Pittsburgh lost a great Queen of Humanity and she would have it no other way. Former Chancellor Nordenberg capture the Essence of Elsie along with Former Governor & Homeland Secretary Ridge and Former PNC CEO Rohr and the Clergy. Nordenberg is simple a class act in every way!
Pitt and Pittsburgh have been blessed with both Nordenberg and the Hillman Team!
'Queen of Pittsburgh' celebrated at Hillman remembrance
Elsie would have wanted a celebration, friends and family said, so that's what they gave her.
“She was as close to perfect as we ever are likely to see walking the face of the earth,” former University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said Saturday during a public memorial in Shadyside for Elsie Hillman. “And to our great fortune, she did most of her walking here in Pittsburgh.”
Hundreds of people, all in some way affected by Hillman, crowded into Calvary Episcopal Church to say goodbye to the beloved philanthropist, political force, loyal friend and loving matriarch. “She befriended everyone,” former PNC Bank chairman and CEO James Rohr said. “And she did it differently. She did it in a personal way.”
Hillman, who died Aug. 4 at 89, was the wife of billionaire industrialist and philanthropist Henry Hillman. During the memorial, she was remembered for her generosity and empathy; her work fighting for equal rights for blacks and women; her dedication to fighting cancer in her role as chair of the foundation that bore her name; and above all her ability to make every person she met feel special.
There were tears and sorrow inside the Shady Avenue church, but only rarely did the mood turn somber. Instead, loved ones focused on how Hillman always made them smile, and her deep impact on society. “She was the queen of Pittsburgh,' Nordenberg said. “But she was a queen with a common touch, a monarch by merit.”
She was shrewd when it came to raising money for projects dear to her heart. Rohr, a party to many such efforts, recalled multiple meetings where Hillman would look at plans, decide they weren't good enough, and say: I can't bring this home to Henry.
Only after he met Henry — a mild, kind and polite man — did Rohr realize that Elsie used her husband's name as a way of getting her way. “I said, ‘this Henry thing is a hoax!' ” Rohr said to great laughter. “She smiled and said, ‘Yes, it is.' ”
Hillman served as a national Republican committeewoman and supported the careers of politicians including former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former President George H.W. Bush.
“She was a dominant and benevolent leader, with friends on both sides of the aisle,” Ridge said during his remembrance. “Imagine what the Republican and Democratic parties would be like today if they conducted themselves with civility and purpose — Elsie's way. Lord, hear our prayer!”
The Rev. Harold T. Lewis described Hillman as “the quintessential political animal,” but added that her far-ranging influence belied a deep sense of humility and faith. He recalled watching her drive herself to church at 8 a.m. every Sunday, “in a little car with an elephant on the hood ... although some people insist that elephant was a donkey.”
A reception followed the public memorial in the Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History in Oakland. Hillman was buried in a private service attended by friends and family.
“She laughed with us, she cried with us, and her door was always open to us,” Ridge said. “She was a modern prophet in her own hometown. Elsie was a gift.”
Chris Togneri is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5632 or ctogneri@tribweb.com. Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/9074009-74/hillman-elsie-former#ixzz3mIWiXCz5
Pitt and Pittsburgh have been blessed with both Nordenberg and the Hillman Team!
'Queen of Pittsburgh' celebrated at Hillman remembrance
Elsie would have wanted a celebration, friends and family said, so that's what they gave her.
“She was as close to perfect as we ever are likely to see walking the face of the earth,” former University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said Saturday during a public memorial in Shadyside for Elsie Hillman. “And to our great fortune, she did most of her walking here in Pittsburgh.”
Hundreds of people, all in some way affected by Hillman, crowded into Calvary Episcopal Church to say goodbye to the beloved philanthropist, political force, loyal friend and loving matriarch. “She befriended everyone,” former PNC Bank chairman and CEO James Rohr said. “And she did it differently. She did it in a personal way.”
Hillman, who died Aug. 4 at 89, was the wife of billionaire industrialist and philanthropist Henry Hillman. During the memorial, she was remembered for her generosity and empathy; her work fighting for equal rights for blacks and women; her dedication to fighting cancer in her role as chair of the foundation that bore her name; and above all her ability to make every person she met feel special.
There were tears and sorrow inside the Shady Avenue church, but only rarely did the mood turn somber. Instead, loved ones focused on how Hillman always made them smile, and her deep impact on society. “She was the queen of Pittsburgh,' Nordenberg said. “But she was a queen with a common touch, a monarch by merit.”
She was shrewd when it came to raising money for projects dear to her heart. Rohr, a party to many such efforts, recalled multiple meetings where Hillman would look at plans, decide they weren't good enough, and say: I can't bring this home to Henry.
Only after he met Henry — a mild, kind and polite man — did Rohr realize that Elsie used her husband's name as a way of getting her way. “I said, ‘this Henry thing is a hoax!' ” Rohr said to great laughter. “She smiled and said, ‘Yes, it is.' ”
Hillman served as a national Republican committeewoman and supported the careers of politicians including former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former President George H.W. Bush.
“She was a dominant and benevolent leader, with friends on both sides of the aisle,” Ridge said during his remembrance. “Imagine what the Republican and Democratic parties would be like today if they conducted themselves with civility and purpose — Elsie's way. Lord, hear our prayer!”
The Rev. Harold T. Lewis described Hillman as “the quintessential political animal,” but added that her far-ranging influence belied a deep sense of humility and faith. He recalled watching her drive herself to church at 8 a.m. every Sunday, “in a little car with an elephant on the hood ... although some people insist that elephant was a donkey.”
A reception followed the public memorial in the Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History in Oakland. Hillman was buried in a private service attended by friends and family.
“She laughed with us, she cried with us, and her door was always open to us,” Ridge said. “She was a modern prophet in her own hometown. Elsie was a gift.”
Chris Togneri is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5632 or ctogneri@tribweb.com. Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/9074009-74/hillman-elsie-former#ixzz3mIWiXCz5
