Biography
Mary French Rockefeller is the granddaughter of Frederick Billings, a lawyer and president of the Northern Pacific Railroad (1879-1881) who was involved in the earliest efforts to create Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks. Mary grew up on the family estate in Woodstock, Vermont.
After attending Vassar College, in 1934, Mary French married Laurence Rockefeller, grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil. Following in their grandfathers' footsteps, Mary French Rockefeller and her husband, Laurance Rockefeller, founded the Billings Farm & Museum at the Billings estate.
In 1992, Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller donated her family home and surrounding property in Woodstock, Vermont, to the federal government for development as the state's first national park and protecting Mount Tom as well as preserving Woodstock's character.
Mary and Laurence Rockefeller's work lives on through the programs they have created. They worked on the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission which contributed to the creation of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Wilderness Act and the National System of Scenic Rivers.
Mrs. Rockefeller was a dedicated supporter of the Young Women's Christian Association and traveled over the world to study the YWCA's activities. She was a trustee of Spelman College for 25 years, a trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the Woodstock (Vermont) Historical Society, and the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation of Plymouth, Vermont. In 1988, she wrote a new introduction to "Grace Coolidge and her Era: the Story of a President's Wife," by Isabel Ross. Mrs. Rockefeller wrote that the book "gives us new insight on those times, and it demonstrates how (Grace Coolidge's) grace, charm and good humor proved a steadying and supportive influence upon a heavily burdened President and upon all those around her."Education
BA, Vassar (1931)Occupation
Philanthropist
Preservationist