Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writer's Award
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Lila Bell Wallace (December 25, 1889 – May 8, 1984) was an American magazine
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. She co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with her husband
Dewitt Wallace William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. ...
, publishing the first issue in 1922.


Early life and education

Born Lila Bell Acheson in Virden,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, Canada, her father was a Presbyterian minister who brought his family to the United States when she was a child, and she grew up in
Marshall, Minnesota Marshall is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota, Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,628 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and 13,906 as of 2023 estimates. Marshall is a regional center in southwest Minnesota ...
, and
Lewistown, Illinois Lewistown is a city and the county seat of Fulton County, Illinois, United States. It was named by its founder, Ossian M. Ross, after his oldest son, Lewis Winans Ross. The population was 2,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Loca ...
, where her father preached. Her brother, Barclay Acheson, was an executive director of the
Near East Foundation The Near East Foundation (NEF) is an American international social and economic development organization based in Syracuse, New York. The NEF had its genesis in a number of earlier organizations. As the scope of relief expanded from aid to Greek, ...
and served as an editor of ''Reader's Digest''. In 1917, she graduated from the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
, located in
Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...
,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, taught at schools for two years, and then worked for the
Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...
. She also studied at
Ward–Belmont College Ward–Belmont College was a women's college located in Nashville, Tennessee. It formed from the merger of the Ward Seminary for Young Ladies and Belmont College for Young Women in 1913. The college was located on the grounds of the Belmont Mansion ...
in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.


Career

In 1921, she married
DeWitt Wallace William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. ...
in Pleasantville, New York. The couple co-founded the ''
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
'' magazine, with the first publication in 1922. For many years, ''Reader's Digest'' was the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States. In her lifetime, she made philanthropic contributions estimated at $60 million. One of her major projects was the establishment of the
Metropolitan Opera National Company The Metropolitan Opera National Company (MONC) was a short lived American opera company that operated from 1965 to 1967 as a second touring company of the Metropolitan Opera that featured American and Canadian artists in their early stages of career ...
, the national touring company of the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
, in 1963. She continued to support the MONC until the Metropolitan Opera decided to disband the organization at the conclusion of the 1966–1967 season.


Death and legacy

She died from
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
, age 94, in
Mount Kisco Mount Kisco is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,959 at the 2020 United States census. It serves as a significant historic site al ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Writers Award was given in her memory from 1990 to 2000. In 1966, Wallace received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
. On January 28, 1972, she was presented with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
by President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. In 1992, she was posthumously awarded the
National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...
."Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts"
.
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...
.


See also

* List of people from New York *
List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients This is a partial list of recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, listed chronologically within the aspect of life in which each recipient is or was renowned. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded by the president of the United S ...
* List of University of Oregon alumni


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Lila Bell 1889 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American publishers (people) American magazine founders American magazine publishers (people) Philanthropists from New York (state) American Presbyterians Businesspeople from Manitoba Businesspeople from New York (state) Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian women in business People from Mount Kisco, New York People from Pleasantville, New York People from Virden, Manitoba Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Reader's Digest United States National Medal of Arts recipients University of Oregon alumni Ward–Belmont College alumni American women company founders Women in publishing 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesswomen