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Remembering Elsie Hillman

By October 8, 2015October 25th, 2016Blog

One of Riverlife’s original founders passed away August 4

Photo of Elsie Hillman by Heather Mull for Riverlife

Riverlife’s board of directors and staff were sorry to hear the sad news that Elsie Hillman, philanthropist, civic leader and one of Riverlife’s founders, died August 4th at the age of 89.

Few come close to paralleling Mrs. Hillman’s legacy of generosity and leadership in Pittsburgh and throughout the country. As an early supporter of creating a master plan for the redevelopment of Pittsburgh’s riverfronts in the late 1990s, Mrs. Hillman came on board as an original founder of Riverlife (then Riverlife Task Force) in 1999.

When Riverlife interviewed Mrs. Hillman for our 10th anniversary several years ago, she remarked on the transformation of the city’s riverfronts:

“Beautiful rivers surround our wonderful city. They are now so clean and shiny…we are so lucky to have our businesses and organizations taking pride in their riverside buildings.I continue to pray that young Pittsburghers will always know how lucky they are to have this waterway’s blessing.”

Riverlife sends our condolences to Elsie Hillman’s family and the countless members of the community whose lives she touched.

Read the Post-Gazette’s remembrance here.

Photo by Heather Mull for Riverlife.

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