Louise Manoogian Simone (May 19, 1933 – February 18, 2019) was an

Armenian American Armenian Americans () are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in Russia. The first major wave of Armenian immig ...

philanthropist. She was president of the

Armenian General Benevolent Union The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or ,''Hay Parekordzagan Enthanour Miyutyun'' or ...

(AGBU) from 1989 to 2002.

Life

Louise Manoogian was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Her father

Alex Manoogian Alexander Manoogian (; June 28, 1901 – July 10, 1996) was an Armenian-American industrial engineer, businessman, and philanthropist who spent most of his career in Detroit, Michigan. He was the founder of the Masco Corporation, which in 1969 w ...

, an immigrant from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, founded

Masco Masco Corporation is an American manufacturer of products for the home improvement and new home construction markets. Comprising more than 20 companies, the Masco conglomerate operates nearly 60 manufacturing facilities in the United States and ...

in 1929 and became wealthy after developing the one-handed

faucet A tap (also spigot or faucet: see usage variations) is a valve controlling the release of a fluid. Nomenclature United Kingdom * Tap is used in the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth for any everyday type of valve, particularly ...

in the 1950s. Alex Manoogian was fifth president of the AGBU and a philanthropist for Detroit civic causes and Armenian political and cultural causes. She was on the AGBU's central council for eight years before succeeding her father as its president. She organized AGBU

disaster relief Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

after the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake (), occurred on December 7 at with a surface-wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then ...

. In 1962, her parents established the Louise Manoogian Simone Foundation, which was later renamed the Manoogian Simone Foundation. In 2007 it donated $1.2m to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

's Armenian Studies program. In 1979 Simone served a term on the Council of the Eastern U.S. Prelacy of the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, the first woman in such a senior position. Simone and her brother Richard Manoogian contributed $2m in 2000 towards the construction of

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral (, ''Surb Grigor Lusavorich mayr yekeghetsi''), also known as the Yerevan Cathedral is the largest cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is located in the Kentron District (''Central District' ...

Personal life

Louise Manoogian married Arman Simone and lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Simone had a daughter, Christine, and two sons, David and Marc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simone, Louise Manoogian 1933 births 2019 deaths American people of Armenian descent Philanthropists from Michigan Philanthropists from New York (state) Armenian Apostolic Christians People from Detroit Philanthropists from Manhattan Presidents of the Armenian General Benevolent Union 20th-century American philanthropists