Josephine and Russell McMillen, Middlebury
A Family’s Love and Loss Leaves a $2.5 Million Legacy
to Help Women in the Community
Josephine and Russell McMillen, the late parents of Lois Livingston McMillen, a flamboyant and artistic young woman, contributed $2,500,000 to the Connecticut Community Foundation for the Lois Livingston McMillen Memorial Funds.
An accomplished fine artist who attended the Parson’s School of Design in New York City, Lois Livingston McMillen was a champion of women’s rights. One of the memorial funds supports scholarships for young women studying art, and the other, agencies that serve women and children who are victims of abuse and domestic violence.
Remembering a Daughter Forever
In 2000, Russell McMillen, then a retired CEO of the Eastern Co. in Naugatuck, and his wife Josephine established two endowment funds in their daughter’s name at the Foundation to acknowledge what she had done and would have done, and to honor her memory forever.
The McMillens also made provisions in their estate plans to donate assets, including real estate and securities, to be added to these funds when the second spouse died. Following Josephine’s death in 2003, and Russ’ death in 2008, these additional assets will now provide significant annual funding for scholarships and agency support forever in Lois’ memory.
Since the funds were established in 2000, 26 young women from the area have received close to $54,000 in scholarships to pursue a career in art with a preference for those studying painting and design - Lois’ areas of study.
Grants awarded from the field of interest fund have totaled more than $84,000 to agencies serving women and children victims of abuse and domestic violence, including Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury, a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. According to Executive Director, Peggy Panagrossi, about 1,100 women turn to Safe Haven each year for services and counseling.
“The support we have received from the Lois Livingston Memorial Fund has helped us expand and enhance counseling services for women,” said Panagrossi. “and to offer more educational and support groups to our clients here and at outside organizations including the Morris Foundation, for women struggling with substance abuse, and the Chase Center, to help women who are transitioning from prison.”
