Dame Rosemary Anne Horton (née Moon; 25 March 1940 – 14 May 2023) was a New Zealand philanthropist. For more than 40 years she raised money for New Zealand organisations, many of which focus on sick children and women.

Biography

Horton was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

on 25 March 1940 to Olga (known as Bill) and Ellis Moon and grew up in Ashburton. Her mother died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in February 1963, when Horton was almost 23. In her late 20s, Horton worked in the library at UEB, a large corporate business in Auckland. Horton was a founding trustee of the Starship Foundation and Friends of Starship in Auckland. She was also the founding chair of the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, and had contributed to Women's Refuge, the SPCA and the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. In 2014, Horton and her husband established the Michael and Dame Rosie Horton Prize at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

to remember New Zealand journalist and writer, Marcia Russell. Horton and her husband's second home was in Australia and they collected over 300 pieces of contemporary Aboriginal art. The collection will be donated to the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

in Sydney.

Personal life and death

Horton was married to Michael Horton, her second husband, who was the managing director of newspaper and magazine publisher Wilson & Horton until 1995. Horton died in Auckland on 14 May 2023, at the age of 83.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Horton received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. In the

1993 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1993 Queen's Birthday honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's b ...

, she was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...

for community service. In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for community service. In the

2011 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to philanthropy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Rosie 1940 births 2023 deaths Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal Companions of the Queen's Service Order Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand philanthropists People from Christchurch People from Ashburton, New Zealand