Marion Hawks

Marion
Hawks likely would have spent this past Saturday at home, listening to the
Metropolitan Opera on National Public Radio. And at night, she surely would
have gone to the Eastman Theatre to see Garth Fagan Dance — one of her life’s
great treasures — perform in a sold-out Griot
New York.

            Hawks — one of Rochester’s finest,
and most adored, cultural ambassadors — died a few days before the show, on
Thursday, September 4, at the age of 85. And though she missed this local
performance of Griot, she was there
in spirit: Garth Fagan dedicated the evening to her memory.

            After growing up in New York City,
Marion Hawks settled with her husband, Thomas, in Brighton, where the couple
raised three children. It was during this time that she established herself in
the Rochester arts community as a gracious and quiet philanthropist.

            She formed a deep appreciation for
many of Rochester’s cultural institutions — Garth Fagan Dance, the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Memorial Art Gallery — while simultaneously
endearing herself to the people within each organization.

            “She was an exceptional human
being,” says MAG Director Grant Holcomb. “It’s fair to say that anyone who ever
met her, who ever spent any time with her, was just enhanced by being in her
presence. She was one of the most gracious people you’d ever meet. She was one
of the most generous people you’d ever meet. She was one of the most humble
people you’d ever meet. She was extraordinary. And she touched my life.”

            And her philanthropy rubbed off on
her children who, to celebrate one of their parents’ wedding anniversaries
several years ago, presented Thomas and Marion with a unique gift: the
establishment of the Thomas H. and Marion J. Hawks Memorial Fund at the Memorial
Art Gallery. Money from the fund is used by the gallery for acquisitions and
educational outreach.

            But Hawks didn’t limit her
appreciation to Rochester’s arts groups. After sending their kids off to
college, Thomas and Marion moved from the suburbs into the city. And Marion
developed a deep love for the city of Rochester.

            Most recently, she was heartened by
the growth of downtown’s housing market. And, as daughter Cinda Johnson says of
her parents, “They would have been right in the heart of it all if they could
have.”

            Sarah Lentini, executive director of
the Rochester Arts & Cultural Council, calls Marion Hawks “a person from a
bygone era.”

            “I met her when I started at the
Arts Council,” Lentini says. “She’d been one of the major supporters of the
arts in Rochester. And my task when I first arrived was to sit down with key
people in the arts community. She was one of them. She was really a very
generous but modest, unassuming, gracious lady — a quiet philanthropist. She
often gave anonymously. She wasn’t looking for a lot of fanfare around her
giving. I wouldn’t be surprised if you called every major arts institution in
town and found they all had some experience with Marion.”

            And it was in a similar spirit that
Hawks lived privately. Asked which of their mother’s characteristics they will
remember most fondly, daughters Sandra and Cinda respond: “Her graciousness and
her humility.”

            “She never complained,” says Cinda.
“She never said an unkind word. She was just totally nonjudgmental. A diplomat
personified. She could find something nice to say about anything. During this
past week, when we all knew her life was coming to an end, we had so many
people calling up and saying she was their best friend. She touched a lot of
people’s hearts.”

            It’s fitting, then, that a woman who
deeply loved Rochester and its cultural treasures became a cultural treasure
herself.

            In
lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Thomas H. and Marion J. Hawks
Memorial Fund at the Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue, Rochester,
New York, 14607.

This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2003.