Mary Atherton Richards
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April 21, 1869
Mary Atherton Richards | |
|---|---|
 Mary Atherton Richards in her youth | |
| Born | Mary Cushing Atherton April 21, 1869 Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S. |
| Died | April 18, 1951 (age 81) Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, clubwoman, philanthropist |
| Father | Joseph Ballard Atherton |
| Relatives | Amos Starr Cooke (grandfather) Juliette Montague Cooke (grandmother) Frank E. Midkiff (son-in-law) Charles Montague Cooke (uncle) |
Mary Cushing Atherton Richards (April 21, 1869 – April 18, 1951) was an American educator, clubwoman, and philanthropist, based in Honolulu.
Richards was born in Honolulu, the daughter of Joseph Ballard Atherton and Juliette Montague Cooke Atherton.[1] Her maternal grandparents were missionary teachers Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke.[2][3] Her father was president of Castle & Cooke Ltd., and involved in banking, telephones, railroads, and schools in Hawaii.[4]
Career
Richards was founder and leader of the Morning Music Club of Honolulu,[4] and active with the Women's Board of Missions for the Pacific Islands, especially on temperance, infant health, and school health programs.[5] She was president of the Free Kindergarten and Children's Aid Association of Honolulu.[6] She served on commissions of the Hawaii Department of Public Education and helped establish the first high schools on Kaua'i and Maui, and the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind.[2] She and her husband donated buildings to the YMCA[7] and the Punahou School, and established a YWCA retreat center on Oahu named Kokokahi.[8] She was a member of the Daughters of Hawaii, the Daughters of the American Revolution,[9] and the Punahou Parent-Teacher Association.[2] She was president of the J. B. Atherton Estate, Ltd.[4] In 1945, a scholarship was established to honor her and her husband's work in education,[10] and a chapel was dedicated in their memory in 1960.[11]
Publications
- The Hawaiian Chiefs' Children's School, 1839–1850 (1937)[12]
