Another of her longstanding charitable priorities was helping those with AIDS and the HIV virus. She served on the board of New York-based Gay Men’s Health Crisis and, with her husband, gave $3.5 million to provide the group with office space in Manhattan.
Influential Philanthropist
“When Joan Tisch walked through the doors of GMHC in 1986, no one could have predicted the impact she would have on our organization, let alone the influence she would exercise as one of the world’s most visible AIDS advocates and philanthropists,” Marjorie Hill, the group’s chief executive officer, wrote in 2011.
On her application, according to Hill, Tisch wrote: “I have known several people afflicted with AIDS, some of whom have died, and I would like to be of service.”
Joan Hyman was born July 14, 1927, the daughter of N. Howard Hyman and his wife, Mae, according to U.S. Census records.
Her father was a Manhattan dentist who helped disabled war veterans attend theater and sporting events. He persuaded Jack Mara, then president of the Giants, to donate 400 seats for each home game to disabled fans and their companions, according to a news release from Loews upon his death in 1981.
Howard Hyman’s second wife, Tess -- Joan Tisch’s stepmother -- carried on the cause. She became known as “Tess of the Meadowlands” for helping fans in wheelchairs attend Giants and Jets football games at their shared National Football League stadium in New Jersey, the New York Times reported.
Tisch received a bachelor’s degree in English in 1948 from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, where she met her husband.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.