Mary Pillsbury Lord

Mary Pillsbury Lord
Born	(1904-11-14)November 14, 1904 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Died	July 21, 1978(1978-07-21) (aged 73)
Spouse	Oswald Bates Lord
Children	3. Charles Pillsbury Lord, Richard Lord (d. 1935), Winston Lord
Parents	Charles Stinson Pillsbury (father) Helen Pendleton Winston (mother)

Lord (center, next to President Truman) in the Oval Office in 1949

Mary Pillsbury Lord sometimes referred to as Mrs. Oswald B. Lord (November 14, 1904 – July 21, 1978) was a civic worker and officer in several charitable organizations, as well as serving as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.

Early life

Born Mary Stinson Pillsbury in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and Helen Pendleton Winston and a granddaughter of the founder of the Pillsbury Company. She graduated cum laude from Smith College in 1927. After graduating from college, Pillsbury joined the Junior League of Minneapolis before relocating to New York City and becoming President of the New York Junior League.

Career

Lord began her career with family welfare work in Minneapolis from 1927–1929, and then became a volunteer case work for the Charity Organization Society in New York City. She was also the president of the Junior League of the City of New York from 1936 to 1938. During World War II she served as Assistant Regional Director of the Office of Civilian Defense and in 1944 was appointed chairman of the National Civilian Advisory Committee of the Women's Army Corps WAC.

On December 7, 1929, in Minneapolis, she married Oswald Bates Lord, a businessman and author. They had three sons. The second one, Richard, was born on July 30, 1935, and died in October of the same year. Their third child, Winston Lord, was born in 1937. He was preceded by Charles Pillsbury Lord in 1933.

From 1948-1952 she chaired and organized the U.S. Committee of UNICEF and in 1952 was co-chairman of the Citizens for Eisenhower organization. In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Lord to succeed Eleanor Roosevelt as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. She also was a U.S. alternate representative and U.S. delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.

After resigning from the United Nations in 1961 she chaired the New York Governor’s Committee on the Education and Employment of Women; worked with the Citizens for Peace with Freedom in Vietnam Committee; was president of the International Rescue Committee; and a governor of the Atlantic Institute.

Mary, along with her sister, Katherine Pillsbury McKee, was a survivor of the sinking of the Ward Line steam ship SS Mohawk, which occurred on January 24, 1935. The 6000 ton-steam ship collided with a Norwegian freighter off the New Jersey coast. 47 passengers died.

External links

• Papers of Mary Pillsbury Lord, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Papers, 1927-1972. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.