Rebecca “Becky” Benaroya, whose philanthropy permanently altered Seattle’s cultural landscape, died Wednesday in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 103. Together with her late husband, developer Jack Benaroya, she was a driving force behind dozens of arts, humanitarian and civic organizations.
The family’s best-known contribution was the creation of a concert hall for the Seattle Symphony. Founded in 1903, the orchestra long served as a central figure in the city’s cultural life, performing in various venues but lacking a permanent acoustically superb home. After a lunchtime conversation between her husband and then-music director Gerard Schwarz in the early 1990s, the Benaroyas pledged $15 million to build a new hall. Benaroya Hall opened in 1998, finally giving the orchestra — which played a key role in popularizing classical music — its own home, and it became one of the city’s landmarks.
Benaroya’s philanthropy extended beyond the symphony. The couple were early supporters of the Pilchuck Glass School, the world-renowned educational center founded in 1971 that elevated the craft into a form of contemporary fine art. The school became the epicenter of the studio glass movement, attracted international artists, and solidified the Puget Sound region’s reputation as a global center for glass art. The pair also supported ACT Theatre and the 5th Avenue Theatre, as well as educational institutions including the University of Washington. In 2016, at age 93, Becky Benaroya pledged 225 works from her art and glass collection to the Tacoma Art Museum along with $14 million for museum expansion.
Medical research was another major focus: the couple funded the Benaroya Research Institute and the Benaroya Center for Diabetes at Virginia Mason Medical Center. In Palm Springs, where Benaroya spent winters in recent years, she supported the McCallum Theatre, Eisenhower Medical Center and the local art museum, and volunteered for 28 years reading to elementary school students.
A daughter of Sephardic Jews who immigrated to Seattle from Turkey and Greece, Becky Benaroya was a tireless champion of the local Jewish community. That community, formed in the early 20th century primarily by immigrants from the island of Rhodes and from Turkey, preserved unique cultural and religious traditions, built its synagogues and created strong mutual-aid networks. Becky and Jack Benaroya actively supported it, donating funds to preserve culture, education and charity, strengthening Sephardic heritage within Seattle’s multicultural mosaic. Her advocacy briefly touched a controversy in 2022 when the University of Washington returned her $5 million donation to an Israel studies program after the program director signed a statement criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Becky Benaroya is survived by three children, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She inherited her philosophy of generosity from her family. In a 2001 interview she recalled lessons from her beloved Turkish grandfather, who believed that money is a gift to be shared and that the most important thing one can leave behind is a good name.
Her legacy is not only buildings and collections but a living spirit of generosity that continues to shape cultural and civic life in Seattle and beyond. As the chair of Benaroya Hall’s board noted, Becky’s love of the arts and extraordinary generosity touched countless lives.
Based on: Rebecca ‘Becky’ Benaroya, Seattle philanthropist, dies at 103