Jean Yawkey was born Jean Hollander in
Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in
Freeport, Long Island, and was a
New York City fashion model for ten years. In December 1944, she married
Tom Yawkey in
Georgetown, South Carolina; both had previous marriages that ended in divorce. During World War II, she was active with the
Red Cross. Tom Yawkey purchased the
Boston Red Sox in 1933 and following his death in 1976, Jean Yawkey was chairwoman of the board of directors of the
JRY Corporation, the majority owner and general partner of the Red Sox, until her death. In 1983, Jean Yawkey became a director of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in
Cooperstown, New York, holding the distinction of being the first woman elected to the board. In 1992, Jean Yawkey died in Boston at age 83. In total, the Yawkeys owned (solely, or with partners) and operated the team for 59 years. Jean Yawkey was inducted to the
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995.
Philanthropy Jean Yawkey had a long association with the
Jimmy Fund/
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute as a trustee and for a period as chair. She was a supporter of the Tara Hall Home for Boys in South Carolina. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Yawkey Family Inn in
Brookline, Massachusetts, a temporary home for families of patients undergoing transplant surgery in Boston-area hospitals. She was also a trustee of the Yawkey Foundation.
Yawkey Foundation The Yawkey Foundation has given over $575 million in grants to organizations in the areas of health care, education, athletics, the arts, and wildlife conservation. The foundation established scholarship funds at
Yale University,
Boston College, and
Boston College High School. She was a supporter of the
Jackie Robinson Scholarship Program and supported several other educational institutions to provide minority students and others with scholarship aid. In 2002, the Yawkey Foundation provided a $25 million grant for the construction of an outpatient center at
Massachusetts General Hospital, where she had been a patient, and where she died in 1992. In 2003, the Yawkey Foundation awarded $5 million to
Emmanuel College in Boston for construction of the Jean Yawkey Center, a student center, dining hall, gym and fitness center.
Boston Red Sox The team's most successful season during Jean Yawkey's ownership came in 1986, when the Red Sox reached the
World Series, losing in seven games to the
New York Mets. ==See also==