Philanthropist Helen Jewett dies at 94

Helen Jewett, an unassuming yet towering figure, whose generosity stretched across the entire community — from the arts to education, medicine, recreation, and the less fortunate — died Friday.

She was 94 years old. Jewett, who died at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, leaves a legacy that will last for generations.

During her life, Jewett lent her time and millions of dollars to community projects almost too numerous to mention.

Close friends said Friday the breadth and depth of her giving isn’t known even to them.

“The community has lost a great lady,” said Patty Dion, executive director of the Yakima Schools Foundation.

Brooke Creswell, director for the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, saw Jewett on Thursday and said she was in top form until the end.

“She gave money with her brains as well as her heart,” he said. “Helen was just one of the best at it that there was or will be.”

Sister Kathleen Ross, president of Heritage University, where Jewett’s generosity helped create the student center and nursing laboratory, said Jewett wanted to help young people obtain an education so they could make a difference for others.

Ross said Jewett once told her she could have built a bigger home or had a nicer car.

“That is not what I want to do or need to do,” Ross recalled Jewett telling her. “I need to make a difference in the community.”

Ross said that comment typified Jewett’s life, a life that had great happiness but was also tinged with tragedy.

“The biggest loss of Helen is that modeling of tremendous generosity with her resources,” Ross said.

Among her many beneficiaries were the Yakima Valley Museum, the Yakima Greenway Foundation, the Yakima Valley Community Foundation, the Capitol Theatre, the Yakima Area Arboretum, the Yakima Schools Foundation, Children’s Village, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, North Star Lodge, Heritage University, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, the Harman Center for seniors, and the Yakima Family YMCA.

Anne Caffery, executive director of the Memorial Foundation, described Jewett as a woman who loved life and beauty and found much of it in the community she and her late husband, Don Jewett, moved to in the late 1940s.

Don Jewett was an insurance executive. The couple worked at the business together and amassed considerable wealth through astute investments.

They began to share their wealth, first with a major donation of $500,00 in 1991 for the Jewett Interpretive Center at the Yakima Area Arboretum.

Caffery said Jewett was unusual in that she gave more than money. She gave her time and wanted to be involved in projects.

“She was a very thorough evaluator of proposals. I think Helen was a fine businesswoman. She evaluated. She analyzed,” Caffery said. “She wasn’t afraid to ask questions and make recommendations.”

Yet Jewett had other qualities that motivated her.

Caffery said she was a person who loved beauty and loved to see beautiful things built that made people happy.

“She loved things that added whimsy and delight. She was attracted to delight and loved being the purveyor of it,” Caffery said. “She sponsored events that brought people together in joyous fashion. She loved to be part of making it happen.”

Bob Romero, executive director of the Yakima Family YMCA, said Jewett inspired those with whom she came in contact.

“She was always very positive, very warm, and very sincere. You always left a meeting with Helen feeling uplifted and marveling not only at her generosity but her personality and character,” he said.

She was selected as the Philanthropist of the Year in Washington state in 2000. The Yakima Herald-Republic named her Person of the Year in 1998.

Helen Neal was born in Eugene, Ore., one of three daughters of Dr. W. B. Neal. She graduated from the University of Oregon School of Nursing.

She met and married her first husband shortly before World War II, a marriage that ended in tragedy when he was killed in the war, Ross said.

She later worked in his father’s medical office and it was there she met a young patient, Don Jewett.

Don Jewett died in 1993. The couple had no children.

She later married longtime friend Walter Shields, who died in 2004.

Helen Jewett continued to live independently and drove her own car.

Caffery said what made Jewett tick was her love of life and helping others.

“She lived this life right up to her last hour,” she said.

Services at Keith & Keith Funeral Home of Yakima are pending and may not be finalized for several days.

• Reporter Erin Snelgrove contributed to this story.

• David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.

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