Pioneering Alaska Philanthropist Dies at 101

Sad news today from the Rasmuson Foundation.

Mary Louise Milligan Rasmuson, social catalyst and one of Alaska’s most important philanthropists, died yesterday at her home in Anchorage.

Mrs. Rasmuson spent her life breaking barriers, challenging conventions, and seeking to improve opportunities for those around her. She was a trailblazer for women and left her mark across the country and the state of Alaska through her leadership, philanthropy, and the family foundation that she helped lead with her late husband Elmer.

~With Eleanor Roosevelt

Selected from the initial pool of 30,000 applicants for the new Women’s Army Corp (WAC), she rose quickly through the ranks and in 1957 became the fifth commandant of the WAC, a position she occupied for six years, first appointed by President Eisenhower and reappointed by President Kennedy.

“Mary Louise’s impact can be felt in virtually everywhere in our state, whether improving the position of families, founding a world-class museum, enhancing research in healthcare, and advancing understanding of Alaska Native cultures on a national stage. Her contributions have reached every corner of Alaska, from Ketchikan to Gambell,” said Ed Rasmuson, her step-son and chairman of the Rasmuson Foundation.

Mrs. Rasmuson arrived in Alaska in 1962 after her marriage to Elmer E. Rasmuson, chairman of National Bank of Alaska. Together, they formed a formidable team, influential in the public and civic agenda in a rapidly developing city and state. She quickly adapted to life in Alaska and became active in several community groups.

Perhaps her most visible impact on Alaska came from her service as head of the Municipality of Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Commission and later as chair of the Anchorage Museum Foundation. Her vision, passion and personal effort led to the creation of the Anchorage Museum of Art and History in 1968. Two years ago, Mrs. Rasmuson helped to cut the ribbon on the latest expansion of the museum, now named the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, a culminating moment in her decades-long vision to build a great museum for all Alaskans.

In 1967, Mrs. Rasmuson began what would become 45 years of service on the board of Rasmuson Foundation, with which she remained actively involved into her late 90s.

In addition to helping direct more than $200 million in grants to Alaska nonprofit organizations through the Foundation.

~At the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Facilities that bear her name include the Elmer and Mary Louise Rasmuson Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC), the Elmer & Mary Louise Rasmuson Center for Rheumatic Disease at the Benaroya Research Institute of Virginia Mason Hospital (Seattle, Wa), and the Mary Louise Rasmuson Pavilion at the Boy Scouts of America Camp Gorsuch (Chugiak, Ak).

Mrs. Rasmuson aspired to higher education at a time when many leading universities did not admit women. She enrolled in the Margaret Morrison Carnegie College, Carnegie Mellon University’s women’s college, which featured both an emphasis on home economics and professors who were forerunners of the feminist movement. Students were encouraged to take charge of their lives, to speak out for what was right, and to demand excellence in all that they aspired to do. Mrs. Rasmuson applied that philosophy broadly. She graduated there with a bachelor’s degree in education, and later earned a master’s in school administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

In 1942, as the United States entered World War II, Mrs. Rasmuson left her job as an assistant principal in a school district near Pittsburgh and became a member of the first class of the new WAC.

As director of the WAC unit, military historians credit her with major achievements including increasing the WAC’s strength, insisting on effectiveness in command, working with Congress to amend laws that deprived women of service credit and benefits, and expanding the range of military opportunities open to women.

Mrs. Rasmuson retired in 1962 after 20 years of military service, during which she received a Legion of Merit award with two oak leaf clusters for her work integrating black women into the WAC. She was also awarded the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Occupation Medal and National Defense Medal. At an event honoring her, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry said, “When you hear about women seizing new opportunities to serve, remember that they march behind Colonel Rasmuson.”

Mrs. Rasmuson was one of the first two women awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and in 2009 was inducted into the inaugural class of the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2012 she received the University of Alaska Anchorage Meritorious Service award and the Inaugural Alaska Veterans Organization for Women Achievement Award. She was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 1960. In 2000, she and Elmer were bestowed the American Association of Museums Medal for Distinguished Philanthropy.

All are invited to attend a funeral mass September 10 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Additional details will be forthcoming.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 625 C Street, Anchorage, AK, 99501.

~Mary Louise and Elmer Rasmusen at the Anchorage Museum that bears their name.

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