Jane Morningstar, endowed college scholarships; at 89

JANE MORNINGSTAR

Jane (Nathanson) Morningstar, a pioneer in Jewish women's philanthropy who endowed countless university scholarships and professorships, died May 15 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center following a stroke. She was 89 and lived in Newton and Boca Raton, Fla.

Mrs. Morningstar, first with her husband, Otto, and after his death in 1999 on her own initiative, was committed to supporting higher education at Boston-area universities and at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She was a pillar in the Jewish communities of Massachusetts and Florida, relatives and friends said.

"In terms of women's philanthropy giving at Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Jane raised the bar," said Margo Golos, major gifts officer for the group. The day before she died, Golos said, Mrs. Morningstar had written a check for her annual commitment to the group and had planned to attend its luncheon the next day.

Steven Grossman, a member of the board of directors of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, called Mrs. Morningstar "a role model for generations of women as to how to become deeply involved in communal service in ways that enriched and enlivened both the organizations she led and the lives of the people whom she served with kindness, grace, and sensitivity.

"Her warmth, selflessness, and credibility were important qualities that made her a very special leader," Grossman said. "Her insight and intellectual rigor were critical ingredients in moving important initiatives forward for the benefit of the entire community," he said. "She was, in sum, the consummate citizen."

Mrs. Morningstar was also a mainstay of her synagogue, Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, said her daughter, Betty of Newton. "Mother was engaged in life to the last minute," she said, "a patron of the arts, a Democrat, very interested in the election, and voter in the Florida primary."

She was also "a quiet activist," she said, but a determined one.

Golos recalled a mission to Israel that Mrs. Morningstar made with other women soon after the Yom Kippur War in 1973. She saw how important American women could be to the recovery of the country and that they wanted to make a difference, financially - with their names on the checks, with or without their husbands - and in other ways.

Mrs. Morningstar's son, Richard of Marion, a former US ambassador to the European Union, said his mother felt it was important for women as well as men to make contributions to causes. He said that while she often wrote checks to charities, her educational donations were always signed jointly with her husband. A Smith College contribution for a Jewish Studies Department was cosigned with her daughter.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Mrs. Morningstar made "at least a dozen" trips to Israel, her son said, adding that his mother was a role model for him and his sister to go into public service. "Mother was as comfortable in working with Russian Jews new to the Boston area as she was in running a board meeting," he said.

Richard Morningstar's wife, Faith, said she never heard her mother-in-law say a bad word about anyone. "She was a very dignified and understated lady in almost any way," she said. "She was absolutely respectful of everyone."

Another priority of Mrs. Morningstar and her husband was supporting the advancement of higher education and scientific research. He was a physicist who founded the Morningstar Corp. in 1946. The company later became Data Packaging Corp., and finally Costar Corp., a laboratory equipment manufacturer, in Cambridge. He was president and board chairman until retiring in 1991.

Together, the Morningstars established scholarships and professorships and other endowments at Brandeis University, raised funds for the Weizmann Institute and its affiliates in this country, and established a professorship in physics at MIT, Otto Morningstar's alma mater. At Smith, where she graduated in 1940, Mrs. Morningstar was instrumental in the creation of a Jewish Studies Department.

"Jean was a lovely and generous woman, who had a visionary sense of Jewish studies at Smith," said Carol Christ, president of Smith.

She was born in Boston to Edward and Ida (Alpert) Morningstar. She and Otto met at Temple Ohabei Shalom and were married the same year she graduated from Smith. They lived in Brookline before moving to Newton.

They had tragedy in their lives with the accidental death of their 15-year-old son, David, in 1964. Her daughter feels that experience gave her mother even more "empathy and compassion for others."

In Boston, Mrs. Morningstar was a lifelong member and former president of the women's division of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and was chairwoman of the women's division of the Jewish Family and Children's Service.

Her daughter said that Mrs. Morningstar was nonjudgmental amid the modern ideas of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Four years ago, Betty married Jeanette Kruger, who had come to this country from South Africa.

"More than accepting our same-sex marriage, she was happy and thrilled for us," she said. Kruger described Mrs. Morningstar as "a true lady, in the best sense of the word."

Mrs. Morningstar was so happy about their wedding, Betty said, "Mother said she would walk in a gay pride parade, if she didn't have to walk with a cane."

In addition to her son and daughter, Mrs. Morningstar leaves a sister, Alma Solar of Newton; a brother, Arthur Altman of Newton; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Services have been held.