Elizabeth B. Hirsch

Elizabeth Blair Hirsch was an extraordinary woman whose sudden death at age 88, on September 22, 1999, left those of us who loved her stunned.  She seemed so vital – we could not imagine living without her.  She loved as few can love, and her beauty of person, her compassion, her selfless giving, and her keen intelligence endeared her to people in all walks of life.  She lived in the present, never counting her accomplishments, nor depending on memories to sustain her; rather she was always ready to take up some new learning, some new service.  Her circle of friends and family was wide and wonderful.

Born on September 12, 1911, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, to James Sutton Blair, a prominent man in the community and president of the local bank, and to Carolyn Hall Blair, a warm, caring woman with a lovely singing voice, Elizabeth went to elementary school in her home town.  Even as a young girl, she loved books, and had read all the works of Shakespeare by the time she was eleven.  Her childhood came to an abrupt end with the death of her mother when Elizabeth was only fourteen.  She was sent, at fifteen, to Miss Madeira’s School in Washington, D.C.  She was terribly lonely in this school, but when she returned home for visits, she had the attentions of Hall, her brother five years older and his friends – who, incidentally, included the young Jimmy Stewart of later Hollywood fame.

After graduating from Miss Madeira’s School, Elizabeth went to Vassar.  She loved it there, majoring in English Literature and working for the school newspaper.  Studious and bright, she was happier there than ever before, and kept in close touch with her college friends to the end of her life.  She graduated from Vassar in 1933, but that intellectual training kept her reading and writing always.  She especially enjoyed a group of friends called simply, the “Reading Club,” meeting every Wednesday for lunch and sharing books, more often than not chosen by Elizabeth.  She wrote scintillating little notes to friends, and thank yous and news-sharings that delighted any recipient. 

Three years after college graduation, in 1936, she married William Conklin, a thoracic surgeon.  They moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where their son, Robert was born in 1938, and two years later, their daughter, Carol in 1940.  Elizabeth was happy to leave Louisiana, its’ heat, its’ insects, and the threat of tornadoes, when the family moved to Portland in 1941.  In 1948, she and her husband got what she referred to as “an inevitable divorce,” painful though it was.  A year or so later, she married Harold, or Hal, Hirsch, chief executive officer of White Stag sportswear, and took his two children, Janney and Fred, to raise as her own.

As busy as her life was, she and Hal shared many interests, traveled widely, attended social and arts events, and built a home together.  They were married for 41 years.  Elizabeth was a welcoming hostess.  Her keen eye for beauty included memorable and creative table settings, a colorful garden, tasteful paintings and sculptures, and with it all, marvelous conversation.  She paid close attention to others, laughed her contagious delight in the human story, and kept the network of news alive with her keen memory.  Whimsically, she was responsible for putting the red nose on the White Stag reindeer in Old Town, making “Rudolph” a historic landmark above the Burnside Bridge.

Her civic generosity was amazing:  Chairwoman of the board of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, head of the fundraising drive that built Loaves and Fishes new kitchen, a founding member of the Marquam Hill Steering Committee at OHSU, co-founder of the Reed College Women’s Committee.  Elizabeth also served on the board of directors for Catlin Gabel School, Portland Civic Theater, the Boys and Girls Aid Society, Mental Health Associates, the League of Women Voters, the Japanese Garden Society, Planned Parenthood, the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology, the Markle Foundation for medical students, and the Seven College Conference.  As if that life of service was not enough, she was also a member of the Oregon Arts Commission, and advised for the family’s private foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation.

Her energy and her active mind, however, did not exempt her from tragedy.  From the death of her beloved mother when she was so young, to the death of her husband from cancer in 1990, Elizabeth also suffered several major illnesses, including breast cancer in the ‘60s.  Her most grievous loss was the death of her daughter, Carol, in 1995, also from cancer.  She bore adversity with a deepening compassion for others, and at her Memorial Service at the Unitarian Church, on October 2, 1999, there was not an empty seat, for she was a much-loved and much-respected woman.  She seemed invincible, but her heart betrayed her and she left us quickly.  She will live on as a symbol of the best women can be – educated, humble, and deeply gracious.