Redwood Library and Athenaeum, URI to share $1M bequest from Newport native

JANE C. EBBS, right, is seen walking in this photo from 1960 with an unidentified woman. Ebbs, a Newport native who died in December, has left $1 million in bequests collectively to the Redwood Library and Athenaeum and the University of Rhode Island. / COURTESY OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL
JANE C. EBBS, right, is seen walking in this photo from 1960 with an unidentified woman. Ebbs, a Newport native who died in December, has left $1 million in bequests collectively to the Redwood Library and Athenaeum and the University of Rhode Island. / COURTESY OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL

NEWPORT – Jane C. Ebbs, a native of Newport who died in December, has left $1 million in bequests collectively to the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport and the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown.
Ebbs, most recently of Sarasota, Fla., gave $250,000 to the library after she died at age 102. The library was notified of the gift in February, said Dr. Edwin G. Fischer, president of the library’s board of directors.
She also has given $750,000 to URI, her alma mater, where she studied nutrition. The URI bequest will be used to create the Jane Cotton Ebbs Endowed Professorship in Philosophy and a second endowment in her name to support faculty development in the philosophy department.
As part of a 33-year federal civil service career, Ebbs became a dietary consultant to a military governor in occupied Germany during World War II and helped feed people in a liberated Europe, occupied Germany and Austria during and after the war. Her book, “The Hidden War,” published in 1991, details her involvement in then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s European invasion plan, which outlined how to provide food, shelter and medical help to civilians.
Fischer said Ebbs’ family has supported the library for more than 200 of its 268 years.
“Her personal history is fascinating and we are all proud that she is a native Newporter, whose education and experience make her an important historical figure, as well,” he said.
“We are truly proud of our alumni, like Jane Cotton Ebbs, who make such an indelible mark on the world and we are extremely grateful that they remain committed to their alma mater,” said Michael Smith, president of the URI Foundation. “URI will honor her wishes to support faculty and will forever be reminded, in doing so, of her innovation, her thirst for knowledge and her pioneering spirit.”

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