VIVIAN DONNELLEY

DONNELLEY--Vivian Hilst,

a passionate and beloved mother, grandmother, wife, sister, friend, philanthropist, and book-lover, died peacefully on Thursday, October 4th, 2018 at her cherished family home in New York, NY of cancer. Vivian, daughter of the late Thelma and Harold Hilst of Hutchinson, Kansas, was 71 years old. Vivian attended Valparaiso University where she met her husband of 40 years, the late Strachan Donnelley. In addition to raising five daughters, Vivian worked as a Senior Admissions Associate at the Dalton School in New York, NY where she also served on the Board of Trustees for many years, as Chair and Co- Author of The Dalton School Strategic Plan (2007), Executive Committee Vice President (1994-2007), Chair of the Educational Policy Committee, and Chair of the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee. Vivian was an active community member, and had served on the board, both as a member and Chair, of Green Chimneys, a pioneer in the field of animal-assisted therapy, serving at-risk youth on its farm campuses. She also served, presently or formerly, as a Trustee on the following boards of directors: the American Museum of Natural History, the Center for Humans and Nature, the Land Institute, Black Rock Forest Consortium, and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. She was also a member of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies' Leadership Council, a founding member of WellMet Philanthropy, and an honorary member of the Yale class of 1964. Vivian's incomparable and elegant spirit will live on in the fabric of the family she so thoughtfully created: her five devoted daughters, Inanna, Naomi, Aidan, Ceara and Tegan; their husbands Jeffrey, Joe, Bryan, Nate and Colin; and her grandchildren Macintyre, Jasper, Mairead, Carys, Fisk, Lachlan, Winslow, Bayard, Rafferty and Hayes, ten and counting, in whose life and laughter she delighted. She is also survived by seven siblings: sisters Sandra, Sheila, Rhonda and Pam, and brothers Rusty, Rick and Kent. Her presence will be felt in the rooms and fields and stories of her favorite places, including Windblown Hill, the Donnelley family farm in Libertyville, Illinois, where a private family funeral will be held on Friday, October 12, 2018. Vivian's life will be remembered and celebrated by family, friends and colleagues at a public memorial service in Manhattan later in the fall. Vivian's family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Green Chimneys greenchimneys.org or Emily's List: emilyslist.org