Awards

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 1996

About Mary O'Brien Gibson

Mary O'Brien Gibson was a philanthropist who supported many endeavors of historic preservation and served on the Washington National Opera's board of trustees.

Mrs. Gibson was president of a foundation named for her parents, Cornelius and Anna Cook O'Brien. Her father was an Indiana industrialist. She oversaw grants to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, including gifts to benefit the Decatur House in Washington and Veraestau, a historic landmark in Aurora, Ind., that belonged to her family for many years.

Mrs. Gibson made donations that resulted in the furnishing of several diplomatic reception rooms at the State Department. She established graduate internships and professorships at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Mrs. Gibson also donated the headquarters building of the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington on Church Street NW.

She served for many years as a trustee of the Washington National Opera and underwrote many productions at the Kennedy Center.

In the 1950s, Mrs. Gibson and her husband operated Modern Design, a furniture store.

She was born in Lawrenceburg, Ind., and graduated from Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. She was a member of the Sulgrave, Chevy Chase, City Tavern and Metropolitan clubs.