Donald and Mary Phillips were each descendants of notable Pennsylvania families, and in their professional and philanthropic careers, the two constantly demonstrated their commitment to bettering the Pittsburgh community and enriching the lives of their neighbors.
Mary lived in Butler all her life. In a testament to their partnership, Mary Phillips named the Butler museum, which she founded, the Maridon, a combination of the first names “Mary” and “Donald.” She spent five years working at the Maridon, welcoming visitors in person. The Maridon still stands as Western Pennsylvania’s only museum with a specific focus on Chinese and Japanese art and culture,
While that museum was a culmination of Mary’s life of service to the community, her philanthropic resume is much longer. She was a generous supporter of the Butler Area Public Library, the Butler County Symphony Orchestra, the Butler Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, the Butler County Historical Society and the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, as well as the founder of the Donald C. Phillips and Mary Hulton Phillips Fund at The Pittsburgh Foundation.
The Phillips’ established their Pittsburgh Foundation fund on January 17, 1992 with the goal of supporting the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Butler. The fund immediately lent $360,000 to the YWCA of Butler to help complete a construction project. In the years since, the fund has continued to support the YWCA’s mission of “eliminating racism and empowering women.”
Donald died in 1994 and Mary in 2009. and the Donald C. Phillips and Mary Hulton Phillips Fund still stands as an active testament to the philanthropic impact the Phillips set out to achieve.
To read more about the Maridon Museum and the woman who founded it, see The Tribune Review. January 21, 2009
Type of Fund
- Designated