Bequest of $500,000 given by alumna

Dorothy (Lockwood) Anderson, left, a 1927 graduate of the Fredonia Normal School, bequeathed a gift to SUNY Fredonia that will amount to approximately $500,000, President Dennis L. Hefner announced.

The gift is among the largest ever received from a graduate of the university.

“We are honored that this generous and talented woman established a legacy at SUNY Fredonia to serve future generations of students,” President Hefner said. “Her passion for music first drew her to Fredonia as a student, continued to enrich her life as a performer and teacher, and led her to enrich the lives of many others through her bequest.”

Mrs. Anderson, a musician and teacher, was co-founder of the Yorkshire-Delevan Library. She died after a long illness at age 98 in June 2004. Married for 61 years to Dr. John V. Anderson, who preceded her in death, she designated that a portion of her estate be given to SUNY Fredonia through the Fredonia College Foundation.

As a Fredonia student, Mrs. Anderson composed the music and lyrics to the Senior Class Marching Song, and was active in music and theatre activities. She later taught music in Elmira Heights, Hamburg, and Arcade. A talented pianist, she continued studying classical music with R. Leon Trick of Buffalo. She was a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Ladies Auxiliary, and a frequent volunteer accompanist at children’s concerts.

Her other philanthropic interests included Chautauqua Institution, the Grace Episcopal Church of Delevan, and the Yorkshire-Pioneer Central School District, where she established a music scholarship. She was born in Ripley, N.Y., in 1905, and later moved to Randolph, where she graduated from high school.