Jane Bradley Pettit

Jane Bradley Pettit
Personal details
Born Jane Bradley
October 29, 1918
Died September 9, 2001 (aged 82)
River Hills, Wisconsin
Spouse(s) David Vogel Uihlein, Sr.
(1945-?; divorced)
Lloyd Pettit
(1969-1998; divorced)
Parents Harry Lynde Bradley
Residence Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Jane Bradley Pettit was an American philanthropist.[1][2][3][4][5]

Biography

Early life

Her father was Harry Lynde Bradley, co-founder of Allen-Bradley and the Bradley Foundation with her uncle, Lynde Bradley.[2][3][6] She attended the Lake School for Girls, Milwaukee-Downer Seminary and Milwaukee University School.[6] She graduated from The Principia in St. Louis, Missouri and studied drama at Finch Junior College.[6] She was a member of the Service Club of Milwaukee.[6] She entered society as a debutante on January 1, 1938 at the Milwaukee Country Club.[6]

Philanthropy

Over the course of her life, she donated more than $250 million to the community and through her Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation.[7] She donated $90 million to the BMO Harris Bradley Center.[1][2][5] Her US$20 million donation to build the Lynde & Harry Bradley School of Technology & Trade, which replaced 100-year old Milwaukee Technical & Trade High School, was the largest single private gift ever to a public school in the United States.[1] She also donated $9 million to the Pettit National Ice Center, an indoor skating facility with two Olympic-sized hockey rinks and a 400-meter skating oval.[1] In 1999, she bought 14 percent of the Milwaukee Brewers.[1] She was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame because of it.[4] She also donated more than US$100,000 to the United Way of Great Milwaukee.[8] The Jane Bradley Pettit Building, home to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, is named for her. She founded the Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation.[9]

Personal life

In 1945, she married David Vogel Uihlein, Sr., heir to the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company.[6] Their daughter, Lynde Bradley Uihlein, is President of the non-profit organization Brico Fund.[1] Their son, David Vogel Uihlein, Jr., is Vice-Chairman of the Bradley Foundation, President of Uihlein-Wilson Architects, and chairs the David & Julia Uihlein Charitable Foundation.[1][10][11]

She was married to Lloyd Pettit from 1969 to 1998.[4]

She died of lung cancer on September 9, 2001.[3] In 2002, her estate in River Hills, Wisconsin was sold to David Kohl, the son of Allen Kohl of Kohl's and the nephew of U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.).[3] She also owned homes in Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin and Naples, Florida, where she wintered.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Jane Pettit was philanthropist beyond compare, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 16, 2001
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bradley Center won't sell name, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 23, 2008
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Jane Bradley Pettit estate sold to Kohl's heir, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 2, 2002
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Pettit, wife built Bradley Center, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 12, 2003
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mary Van de Kamp Nohl, Jane's Gift, Milwaukee Magazine, 1/31/2008
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Jane Bradley Wed Here to David Vogel Uihlein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 12, 1945
  7. ↑ Philanthropist Jane Pettit dies
  8. ↑ United Way of Greater Milwaukee
  9. ↑ The Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation
  10. ↑ Bradley Foundation Board of Directors
  11. ↑ Bloomberg BusinessWeek: David V. Uihlein, Jr.