Auerbach, Beatrice Fox, 1887-1968

Biographical Note

Outstanding business woman, civic leader and philanthropist. Born in Hartford July 7, 1887, daughter of Moses and Theresa Stern Fox, she worked briefly as a salesgirl in the family business, G. Fox & Co., founded by her grandfather, Gerson Fox, in 1847. In 1911, she married George S. Auerbach of Salt Lake City who, in 1917, became the firm's secretary and member of its board of directors. Upon the untimely death of George Auerbach in 1927, she became manager and vice president and worked side by side with her father, Moses Fox, president of the firm, and upon his death in 1938, she became president of G. Fox & Co. Beatrice Fox Auerbach was an astute business woman and under her direction the store became the largest privately owned department store in the country until it was sold in 1965 to the May Co. for an estimated $40,000,000. Her impact on the Greater Hartford community was widespread. She was a leader in every facet of Hart¬ford's civic and cultural life. In 1942, under her guidance, Fox's became the first major department store in the U.S. to hire African Americans in positions above the menial level. In 1945, she founded the Service Bureau for Women's Organizations, an agency that brings high quality speakers and programs to women's clubs. She became one of the chief revitalizers of downtown Hart¬ford, with a 1959 investment of $8,000,000 in an eleven¬story east wing addition to the store. Especially interested in the field of education, in 1939 she set up in the Connecticut College for Women the Auerbach major in "retailing and allied fields." Many young people have gone on to higher education because of scholarship grants from the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation established in 1941. In 1956, she endowed a professorship in economics at Trinity College. In 1967, she established at the University of Hartford the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Hall which houses the School of Business Administration and, in 1960, the Auerbach Lecture Hall. She contributed a 20,000 volume art library to the Wadsworth Atheneum in 1963, and sponsored many art exhibits through Fox's and her Service Bureau. From 1947 to 1965, she subsidized the Hartford Symphony and the Opera Department of the Hartt School of Music and served as an officer and member of their boards. She was a major contributor to the three hospitals in Hartford, to the Hartford Jewish Federation, to the Hebrew Home for the Aged, and other institutions. She was a trustee of the Hartford College for Women, the American School for the Deaf, and a board member of Hebrew Union College. In 1947, she received the Tobe Award, the Oscar of retailing. Wesleyan University, Hillyer College, and St. Joseph College presented her with honorary degrees. In 1950, she received the Americanism and Civic Award of B'nai B'rith of Hartford; in 1962, the Public Service Award of the State Bar Assn. and the Distinguished Service Award of the American Legion Auxiliaries; and in 1964, the Distinguished Service Award of the Connecticut State Federation of Women's Clubs and also the Human Relations Award of the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Region of the National Confer¬ence of Christians and Jews. She was a world traveler and always returned with observations about the problems of the countries she visited. Died Nov. 29, 1968 at the age of 81. Survivors: daughters, Mrs. Richard (Georgette) Koopman and Mrs. Bernard (Dorothy) Schiro; sister, Mrs. Leslie R. Samuels ( N.Y.C. ) .

From the Hartford Courant editorial, Dec. 1, 1968:

"Many causes in the community, many aspects of life in general, knew her support and the impact of her personality . . . . She was a wise and gracious companion and friend. The world was never too big nor too busy for a greeting or a chat."

From the Hartford Times editorial, Dec. 1, 1968:

"Service and integrity were the marks of her many benefactions . . . . We shall not soon understand how much Mrs. Auerbach meant to our state and our society, for the things she established will be operating for a long time to come. Eventually, pos¬terity will measure her accomplishments more ac¬curately than we can, and the scale will be grand."

In her will she made cash bequests totalling $377,000 to friends and employees and one third of her estate has been left to carry on her charitable, educational, and cultural concerns.

Citation:

Silverman, M. (1970) Hartford Jews 1659-1970. Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT.

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