Anne Windfohr Marion (born Anne Valliant Burnett Hall; November 10, 1938 – February 11, 2020) was an American heiress, rancher, horse breeder, business executive, philanthropist, and art collector from

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. She served as the president of Burnett Ranches and the chairman of the Burnett Oil Company. She was the founder of the

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O'Keeffe, her life, American modernism, and public engagement. It opened on July 17, 1997, eleven years after the artist's death. It comprises multiple sites in two locat ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

. In 1981, she was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American W ...

of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and Native American art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Amer ...

Early life

Anne Valliant Burnett Hall was born and grew up in

.Forbes 2006
/ref>American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum: Anne Windfohr Marion
Her father, James Goodwin Hall, was a stockbroker.Anne Windfohr Wed to John L. Marion
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 27, 1988Mary Rogers, ''Dancing Naked: Memorable Encounters with Unforgettable Texans'', College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 200

/ref> Her mother, Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy, Anne, was a rancher, horsebreeder, businesswoman and philanthropist. After her parents' divorce, she was adopted by her mother's third husband, Robert Windfohr, and took his name. When her mother remarried for the fourth time, her stepfather became

Charles D. Tandy Charles David Tandy (15 May 1918 – 4 November 1978) was the chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of the Tandy Corporation. Early life Tandy was the second of three children born to Carmen (née McLain) and David Lewis ...

, the founder of the

Tandy Corporation Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned Retail, retailer based in Fort Worth, Texas that made leather goods, operated the RadioShack chain, and later built personal computers. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store ...

. Her maternal great-grandfather, Captain

Samuel Burk Burnett Samuel Burk Burnett (January 1, 1849 – June 27, 1922) was an American cattleman and rancher from Texas, owner of the 6666 Ranch, and namesake of Burkburnett, Texas. Early life Samuel Burk Burnett was born on January 1, 1849, in Bates Cou ...

, was a rancher.6666 Ranch: A Family Legacy of Cattle, Horses and Oil
/ref> Known as 'Little Anne' informally, she was educated at the

Hockaday School The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day school for girls Pre-K through 12 located in Dallas, Texas, United States. The Hockaday School is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. Histo ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

.They're Engaged!
''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

'', April 16, 1961 She graduated from Briarcliff Junior College in

Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

. She then attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

and the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where she studied art history. She was presented as a debutante at

The Assembly The Assembly were a British synth-pop project formed in 1983 in Basildon, England, by Vince Clarke (songwriting, keyboards, backing vocals) and Eric Radcliffe (songwriting, production). Feargal Sharkey was hired as a guest vocalist for the ...

in Fort Worth. She was elected as Duchess of Texas at the

Texas Rose Festival The Texas Rose Festival, a three-day event held annually in Tyler, Texas, celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy. The festivities, taking place during the third weekend of October, draw thousands of tourists to the cit ...

in 1957 and Duchess of Fort Worth to the Court of Courts by the Order of the Alamo in 1959.

Career

She inherited four

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

es spanning 275,000 acres in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

, and served as the president of the entity known as Burnett Ranches.Peter J. Reilly
Ranch Heiress Shows IRS She Is Real Cowgirl
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', May 27, 2014 It includes the historic

6666 Ranch The Four Sixes Ranch, stylized as 6666 Ranch, is a ranch in King County, Texas, as well as Carson County and Hutchinson County. Location The main section of the ranch is located near the town of Guthrie in King County, Texas. She purchased

Dash For Cash Dash For Cash (April 17, 1973May 20, 1996) was an American Quarter Horse racehorse and an influential sire in the Quarter Horse breed. Racing career Dash For Cash won $507,688 during his career and was the Racing World Champion in 1976 and 197 ...

Special Effort Special Effort (April 9, 1979 – March 11, 2006) was an American Quarter Horse stallion who won the 1981 All American Futurity. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association's (or AQHA) Hall of Fame in 2008.Staff "Hall of Fame ...

and

Streakin Six Streakin Six (1977–2005) was an American Quarter Horse stallion and a famous racehorse as well as a breeding stallion. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2011. Life Streakin Six was a 1977 stallion bred by the Tom ...

, all award-winning horses. She also kept 160

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s. She was inducted into the

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum was created by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas. Ground breaking construction of the Hall of Fame Museum began in 1989. The distinction is earned by people and ...

in 2007. In 1980, she established the Burnett Oil Company, headquartered at the Burnett Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas. The company operates in several states. It is a member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and she served as its chairman of the board. In 1983 she was worth $150 million, and in 1989 this had risen to $400 million. In 2006, she was worth US$1.3 billion. She was on the Forbes 400 list until 2009, when she was worth US$1.1 billion.Forbes 2009
/ref>

Philanthropy

Marion served as president and trustee of the Anne Burnett and Charles D. Tandy Foundation. It later became known as the Burnett Foundation. With a gift of $10 million from the foundation, she founded the

in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Kathryn Jones
The Money of Color
''Texas Monthly'', September 1999 In 2013, she donated the main donation for a $57 million new emergency center at the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.Betty Dillard
New emergency care center honors Fort Worth philanthropist Anne Marion
''Fort Worth Business Press'', June 4, 2013 It is named the ''Marion Emergency Care Center''. She served on the boards of trustees of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York City, as well as the

Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, w ...

and the

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...

. She helped move the

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an edu ...

from Hereford, Texas to Fort Worth.Charles Moncrief, ''Wildcatters: The True Story of How Conspiracy, Greed, and the IRS Almost Destroyed a Legendary Texas Oil Family'', New York City: Regnery Publishing, 2013, chapter

/ref> She selected members of the board of trustees alongside business executive

Ed Bass Edward Perry "Ed" Bass (born September 10, 1945) is an American businessman, financier, philanthropist and environmentalist who lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He financed the Biosphere 2, Biosphere 2 project, an artificial closed ecological s ...

. She was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2005. She served as a member of the

Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System The Texas Tech University System is a public university system in Texas with five member universities. Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, the Texas Tech University System is a $3 billion enterprise focused on advancing higher education, health car ...

from 1981 to 1986. She endowed a professorship at the Ranching Management School of

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

(TCU) in Fort Worth. She also paid for the renovation and new elevator of the chancellor's box of the Amon G. Carter Stadium at TCU, where the chancellor conducts fundraising events for the university. She was the recipient of the Charles Goodnight Award from TCU. In 2001, she received the National Golden Spur Award from the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. In 2012, she was a donor to

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

's presidential campaign.

Personal life

Marion was divorced three times. In 1961, she was married to William Wade Meeker, the son of Mrs. and Mr. Julian R. Meeker. They had one daughter, Anne Windfohr Meeker (Windi). Her second husband was Benjamin Franklin (B. F.) Phillips, a horseman; they owned several successful racehorses including

and

. They married in 1969 and divorced in 1980. They raised one daughter, Anne "Windi" Phillips Grimes (born 1964), who married David M. Grimes II. Her third husband was James Rowland Sowell. They married in 1982 and divorced in 1987. She married her fourth husband,

John L. Marion John L. Marion is an American auctioneer and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Sotheby's () from 1975 to 1994. Early life John L. Marion was born in Gardiner, New York.

, at the

Church of the Heavenly Rest The Church of the Heavenly Rest is an Episcopal church located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 90th Street, opposite Central Park and the Carnegie Mansion, on the Upper East Side of New York City. The church is noted for the architecture of ...

on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, in 1988. The ceremony was performed by Reverend C. Hugh Hildesley. She lived in the

Westover Hills Westover Hills is a town in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 641 at the 2020 census. In 2000, Westover Hills was the wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income and the 12th highest-income place in the United Stat ...

neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, in a 19,000-square-foot modernist home on Shady Oaks Lane, designed for her mother by

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

in the 1960s. She owned secondary residences in

Indian Wells, California Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta, California, La Quinta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...

, and an apartment at 820 Fifth Avenue, New York. She enjoyed quail hunting on her Four Sixes Ranch. She died on February 11, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marion, Anne Windfohr 2020 deaths Businesspeople from Fort Worth, Texas People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Businesspeople from Palm Springs, California Ranchers from Texas American racehorse owners and breeders American women philanthropists Texas Tech University System regents Texas Christian University people People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) American Episcopalians American billionaires Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees 1938 births Hockaday School alumni AQHA Hall of Fame (members) Philanthropists from New Mexico Philanthropists from Texas