Myrtle Wreath Society
Giving is one of life’s greatest joys, and inspired giving plans with the Museum create a legacy.
Formed in 2009 to honor friends who make plans for a legacy gift to benefit the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Myrtle Wreath Society now numbers more than 350 members. Society members enjoy an invitation to an annual formal luncheon, invitations to exclusive programs, and recognition in selected publications. No dues or fees are necessary to participate in the Myrtle Wreath Society, but there is an enrollment process. Details regarding your future gift are not required. Complete an enrollment card or contact Julia Smith at jsmith@mfah.org or 713.353.1587 with any questions. Members of the Myrtle Wreath Society play a critical role in ensuring the Museum will remain a vital cultural asset by providing generous resources on which to draw far into the future.
Of the vast treasures in the MFAH collections, the exquisite Greek Myrtle Wreath, a gift of Miss Annette Finnegan in 1937, was carefully selected to represent the society and its members. In ancient Greece, victorious soldiers, athletes, and participants in festival processions wore wreaths fashioned from intertwined leaves. By the Hellenistic period (330–30 BC), the wreaths were made of gold foil; too fragile to be worn, they were created primarily to be buried with the dead as symbols of life’s victories. This exquisite gold wreath embodies the past, present, and future victories of all involved in the MFAH and crowns the heroic friends who comprise the Myrtle Wreath Society.
The official bequest language for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston:
“I, [name] of [city, state, zip], give, devise, and bequeath to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas 77005 [written amount or percentage of estate] for its unrestricted use and purpose.”
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Tax ID #74-1109655
Myrtle Wreath
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Miss Annette Finnigan
Myrtle Wreath Society Members
Anonymous (30)
Donna and George Abdo
Sandy and Russell Andorka
Diane Arnold and Bill Frazier
Lynne and John Averett
Audrey Jones Beck*
Margaret E. Biehl*
Rick Bihner
Dorothy B. Black
Jack S. Blanton, Sr.*
Gay S. Block
Dr. Michael and Susan Bloome+
Jessie Carolyn Brown+* and Jack Harold Upton Brown+*
Leslie Q. Brown
Terry Ann Brown
Leslie and Brad Bucher+
Rusty Burnett
Douglas Burton and Christopher Ralston/Apartment Zero
Judi Burton
Hiram Butler
Rose Marie Byrne*
Dr. and Mrs. Craig Calvert
Frank N. Carroll+
Bettie Cartwright
Elizabeth H. Caselli*
Duncan Wills Corbett
Dr. Joan K. Bruchas* and Mr. H. Philip Cowdin*
Fredricka Crain*
Mrs. Patricia S. Cunningham *
Michael W. Dale
Malcolm Daniel and Darryl Morrison
John Blodgett Davis+*
James J. Deegan+*
Leonora De Grasse*
Linnet F. Deily
Ms. Ellena Dickerson
Diana do Carmo
Mr. Stan Druck
Shirley S. Druggan
Mrs. Wayne B. Duddlesten
Jeaneane Booth Duncan+*
Deborah DeFord Dunkum+
John R. Eckel, Jr.*
Charles Emrich+
John Eymann
Marilyn Jane Fedder*
Linda K. Finger+*
Richard E. Fluhr and Rodolfo Hernandez, Jr.
Aggie Foster
H.J. (Joe) Foster*
Gregory Fourticq
Morgan Garwood*
Eileen B. Glaser
Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.+*
Clare Attwell Glassell+
Marc P. Gordon
Samuel F. Gorman+
Joyce Z. Greenberg
Valerie B. Greiner
Dr. Ellen R. Gritz
Nora Grossman*
Nancy P. Guinee
Jas A. Gundry+
Luis A. Gutierrez
Anne Overton Haass
Bruce Haass*
William C. Hauber*
Barbara* and Ernest Henley*
Carola Herrin and John Herrin*
Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Hevrdejs
George S. Heyer, Jr.*
Marjorie G. Horning+*
Katherine and George Howe
Ira J. Jackson*
Virginia Hartle Jackson*
Dr. Lamar and Jane Jackson Charitable Remainder Trust+
Dodie and Richard S. Jackson
Nancy Glanville Jewell+*
A. Clark Johnson+
Dr. Blair Justice+*
Dr. Rita Justice+
James Ketelsen*
Kathryn Ketelsen
Mr. Jarrod S. Klawinsky
Andrius R. Kontrimas+
Mr. and Mrs. Vahid Kooros+
Mary Lynch Kurtz*
Ms. Margo Lamb*
Mr. William F. Lassiter*
Caroline Wiess Law*
Mark Lensky*
Phillip Leonian*
Richard D. Lester
Mary Susan Lewis*
Elsie Lieskovsky*
Victoria Lightman and Marshal Lightman*
Michael C. Linn+
Patricia G. Linn*
Eric R. Liston
Mrs. Cornelia Long+
Mr. Meredith J. Long+*
Christopher H. Loo, M.D., Ph.D.
Susan Lorence
John Andrew MacMahon
Dean Maddalena and Jonathan Blackwood*
Mr. Michael D. Malbin+*
Mrs. Rosemary Malbin+
Mike and Mickey Marvins
Mrs. Frances P. Marzio+
Dr. Peter C. Marzio+*
Lori Lynn and Marcel Mason+
June Mattingly*
Kate Hilton McConnico
Deirdre H. McKee
Kay McKeough
Will L. McLendon
Laura Sue H. McMurrey*
Allen D. McReynolds
Gary Mercer
Patti and Michael Morgan
Sara and Bill Morgan
Joan Morgenstern
Mrs. S.I. Morris*
Charles Morse*
Celia and James Munisteri
Franci Neely
Carl A. Niendorff
Edward Oppenheimer, Jr.*
Maria C. Osorio
Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Patsner
Mary Anne Holloman Phillips*
Mary Lawrence Porter+
Amy and Robert Poster
Amy M. Purvis
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Randall III
Minnette Robinson+
Arthur D. Robson, Jr.+*
Shirley E. Rose
Milton D. Rosenau, Jr.
Diane and Ron Sandberg+
Linda A. Sarandrea
Anne-Louise Schaffer
Wanda Schaffner
Marc Schindler+
Donald R. Schlotterbeck*
Alice C. Simkins
William J. Sloughter*
Anita J. and William R. Snell
Charlotte H. Stafford+*
Levi Alvin Stark, Jr.+*
William F. Stern*
Catherine Stevenson
Carol Ann Straus*
Harold Jack Tausend, M.D.*
Charlene Quitter Thompson*
Merrianne Timko and Peter Lotz
Gary Tinterow
Sandra L. Tirey and Jan R. van Lohuizen
Mrs. Fiona Toth
Dr. Robert S. Toth*
Ann G. Trammell+
Anne Wilkes Tucker+
Francita Stuart Koelsch Ulmer+
Dr. Carlos Vallbona*
Jana Vander Lee
Suneeta and Nanik Vaswani
Margaret Waisman, M.D.
Thomas Barry Walker*
Renée G. Wallace
Michael Weller
Dorothy S. and Robert D. Wells
Herbert C. Wells*
Lynne Werner
Jane Day Westerfield+*
Karen Wilkin and Don Clinton
Eleanor L. Williams
Isabel B. Wilson+*
Jeanie Kilroy Wilson+
Shari and Gary Winston
Diane and Gabriel Wisdom
Daisy S. Wong*
William Woodford*
John C. Wynne*
John L. Zipprich II
*gifts matured
+charter member
as of February 1, 2021