Houston Chronicle Sunday

MOLLY GIBBINS HIPP HUBBARD

1956-2019

-

Molly Hubbard passed away Tuesday morning November 19th due to complicati­ons from cancer. To the end her beauty, dry wit, positive attitude, and core faith remained intact. She was surrounded with love and grace in her final days as friends and family rallied around to hold her close as she transition­ed. As in life, she exhibited her signature courage and never say never attitude.

Molly will be remembered for being fabulous in just about every respect. She was a native Texan and citizen of the world, with a special ability to forge life-long friendship­s and vibrant partnershi­ps. Molly connected with people from all walks of life, seeing and celebratin­g the best in everyone. To be loved and cherished by Molly was to know friendship and devotion at its best. She was passionate about art, nature, songbirds, fashion, travel, poetry, unicorns, and, most recently, dragonflie­s and otters.

A natural beauty throughout her life, she had a presence that could command the room. She was cheerleade­r, model, fashionist­a, muse, and the face of the “Texas Riviera”. At the Baker Institute her nickname was “Pulchritud­e”.

Molly combined infectious enthusiasm with a potent capacity to act, the results of which are demonstrat­ed in her successful years of advancemen­t and fund raising. There was no project initiative too ambitious for Molly. Starting with the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, she raised funds for the museum’s expansion, then joining The Nature Conservanc­y of Texas in the early 90s to raise funds for their pioneering programs to acquire magnificen­t nature preserves across Texas, including Dolan Falls, that to this day protect critical habitat. She had a special ability for cultivatin­g major donors and helping others realize their visions. As one colleague remembers, “No one could tell her no”.

Her path then led back to the University of Texas to secure her degree in Humanities with a focus on Art History, where she graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Following graduation, she joined The Austin Museum of Art as Director of Developmen­t to support their proposed new downtown campus. Finally, in 2002 she moved to Houston for love and to build a life with her husband, Ford Hubbard. In short order she captured the heart of the city and became a visible and cherished part of the community. She had friends and fans of every age – everyone, it seems, was a bit smitten with Molly.

Joining Rice University in 2002, she had a long and distinguis­hed career starting as Director of Developmen­t for The James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy, where she worked for five years, raising over $25 million and implementi­ng a stewardshi­p program for a $75 million endowment. She then became Director of Developmen­t for Special Projects at Rice providing strategic counsel to deans and department chairs on projects for the Shepherd

School of Music, School of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.

It was during this tenure she began working with the Art Committee raising funds through endowments and gifts to create a collection of art at Rice. As the program gained momentum, in 2008 she was appointed University Art Director, Public Art, leading the aspiration­al new program as part of Rice’s Vision for the Second Century as a means of enlivening the campus and connecting it with the arts community in Houston. It was the perfect fit, combining her love of art, ability to cultivate donors, and passion to realize a vision. Two of her proudest achievemen­ts were the successful completion of the James Turrell skyspace, dubbed “Twilight Epiphany”, which opened June 14, 2012, and serving as the Spectacle Committee Co-Chair for the Rice Centennial, also in 2012.

In recognitio­n of her leadership and impact in the arts, in 2007 Governor Rick Perry appointed Molly to a six-year term on the Texas Commission on the

Arts. In recent years she had launched her own consulting practice bringing her unique talents to support initiative­s closer to her heart, including the homeless, animal rescue/ rehabilita­tion, and, of course, art projects with impact.

Molly leaves behind her husband, Ford Hubbard III, her stepdaught­er Julia Ashland Hubbard, her siblings Cynthia Lavin and Ty Gibbins, and niece, Crystal Holmes. She also leaves behind numerous women, young and old, that she helped mentor – “Molly’s Girls” – their future impact will be her greatest legacy.

A celebratio­n of her life will be held at Christ Church Cathedral located at 1117 Texas Avenue in Houston starting at 2:00PM on Thursday December 5th, 2019. Donations in her honor may be made to Texas Wildlife Rehabilita­tion Coalition (www.twrcwildlf­ecenter.org).

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States