SANDRA FERRY ROCKEFELLER

ROCKEFELLER, Sandra Ferry Sandra Ferry Rockefeller, 89, died peacefully at her home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on October 25, 2024. Born on October 14, 1935, in New York City, she was the oldest child of John D. Rockefeller, III and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller; and sister of John D. Rockefeller, IV, Hope Aldrich and Alida R. Messinger. She is survived by her siblings, their spouses and numerous nieces and nephews, who mourn her passing. Sandra was a graduate of The Brearley School in New York and Vassar College. As a young person, she loved classical music and studied piano seriously. Her greatest passion became ballroom dancing, at which she excelled. After she moved to Boston, she won contests at the city's famous waltz evenings and her twirling figure attracted many a young man's attention. In later years, Sandra lived a quiet and private life and found great pleasure in painting landscapes. She moved gracefully, had a quick sense of humor and deep compassion for people in pain. A good listener, she would gladly help her sisters and friends to see the best in themselves and others. She was also a very determined person driven to make our world a more peaceful and livable place. Soon she became a philanthropist, who gave generously and often anonymously, to cultural, political and social justice causes. Environmental organizations associated with the anti-nuclear movement particularly attracted her attention. In addition to her personal philanthropy, Sandra established two nonprofit grant-making organizations, the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the Foundation for the Fight for Human Survival. She created the Trust for Mutual Understanding forty years ago and focused it on some largely overlooked areas of the globe. It now supports exchanges in the arts and environmental stewardship between professionals from the U.S. and 28 countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Baltic states, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Mongolia. Sandra believed the greatest good could be achieved by encouraging individual citizens to better understand each other's languages, cultures and value systems. She also felt that the "mutual understanding" resulting from these direct interactions, at a human level, was the essential first step toward achieving world peace in the nuclear age. Sandra launched the Foundation for the Fight for Human Survival in 2019. Thus far, the foundation has primarily backed mental health initiatives, clinical trials in treating Alzheimer's Disease and substance abuse and educational programs in neuroscience. Until her death, Sandra never stopped asking "what can I do to help the world be a better place."

View the online memorial for Sandra Ferry ROCKEFELLER