October 31, 1996 | By JOHNNY MASON JR.; Courant Correspondent
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Her friends describe Elizabeth L. Knox as an honest, dedicated woman who loved Hartford.
Although she died 30 years ago after suffering a heart attack while preparing lunch for friends, the memories of Betty Knox and the impact of her good works live on.
Promoting education, beautification, gardening, and service to children and the community—that was Knox’s vision, said Mary Christensen, program coordinator for the Knox Parks Foundation, based at Elizabeth Park. A celebration in Hartford City Hall’s atrium will mark both the 30th anniversary of the foundation and the 89th anniversary of Knox’s birth.
Knox was born in Hartford on November 1, 1908, the daughter of Robert C. Knox and Estelle Lethridge Knox. Her father founded the R.C. Knox Co., Inc., an insurance agency.
She graduated from Hartford public schools, Miss Wheeler’s School in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Yale University School of Drama.
Active in civic and political affairs, Knox served six terms on the Hartford City Council, where she supported urban renewal initiatives, city playgrounds, and concerts in Elizabeth Park.
“The city meant a lot to her. Her resources gave her the opportunity to be active in politics and influential in the community,” Christensen said.
During World War II, Knox opened a daycare center in Charter Oak Terrace. That experience sparked her interest in city affairs and led her to join the Hartford League of Women Voters, where she later served as president.
“She loved kids. She didn’t have any of her own, so she put a lot of effort into helping others,” said Mary Edwards, 83, a longtime friend.
“But she had no regrets about not having children,” Edwards added. “Betty wasn’t one to say, ‘If only I did this’ or ‘I should have done that.’ She did things.”
Several months before Knox’s sudden death at age 57, she asked Edwards to serve as vice president of the newly formed Knox Parks Foundation.
When Knox died in 1966, she left approximately $7 million in her will to establish a charitable foundation. Ten years later, that organization was divided into the Knox Parks Foundation and the Knox Foundation, Christensen said.
The Knox Foundation provides grants to a variety of organizations, including the parks foundation. The Knox Parks Foundation administers numerous programs, including teacher training for indoor gardening projects in city schools, community gardens, and summer youth initiatives for Hartford residents.
Knox’s generosity helped establish the Betty Knox Apartments across from St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, preserve the Bushnell Park Carousel—which her foundation purchased in 1974—and create 20 community gardens throughout Hartford.
“She just had more energy and more ideas than anyone I knew,” Edwards said.
Jack Riege, 74, a retired Hartford attorney who helped Knox establish her foundation, said she spent many hours in his law office discussing her love for Hartford.
“She had the foresight to set this whole thing up,” said Riege, who served on the Knox Foundation board. “This was wonderful for Hartford.”
Riege did not believe Knox had any premonition of her death, but he said that while she often had a sense of humor, she was deeply serious when discussing plans to improve the city.
He recalled Knox looking out the window of his 15th-floor office at Constitution Plaza toward Interstate 91, wondering how she could help beautify Hartford.
“She talked about giving people something that would excite them,” he said. “She wanted to give them something they could enjoy and be proud of.”
Tom Bodine, 81, who met Knox through political activities, helped her organize the Citizens Charter Committee in 1951. The nonpartisan organization endorsed candidates based more on merit than political party affiliation, Bodine said.
Knox later ran for office with the committee’s endorsement.
“Betty used to say there isn’t a Republican way to clean up the streets or a Democratic way to fix a problem—only a proper way,” Bodine said.
Knox, who never married, and Bodine often traveled to New York City to attend Broadway productions. They also shared a tradition of burying a bottle of champagne in a snowbank before attending performances at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. After the show, they would return to Hartford and enjoy the chilled champagne while overlooking the city.
“She was loved and respected by everyone who knew her,” Bodine said. “She represented goodness.”
