Spencer and julie penrose biography
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Julie Penrose
Julie Villiers Lewis McMillan Penrose was an extraordinary woman from a storied family. Born in 1870, Julie was the daughter of prominent businessman and former Detroit Mayor Alexander Lewis and his wife Elizabeth Ingersoll. Lewis was the grandson of Frenchman Louis Villiers and grew up in Ontario, Canada before arriving in Detroit at the age of 15. Dubbed the “First Gentleman of Detroit,” Lewis was an ideal civic leader in his adopted city, serving as police commissioner and helping found the Detroit Museum of Art and the city’s public library.
Julie was one of eight Lewis children to survive to adulthood. Her family was wealthy, well-travelled and fluent in all things French. The “belle” of Detroit society, Julie was said to be exceptionally beautiful. After attending finishing school in Boston, seventeen-year-old Julie made her first grand tour of Europe. When she returned to America, she married James (Jim) Howard McMillan, the son of powerful U.S. Senator James
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Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865 – December 7, 1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune from mining, ore processing, and real estate speculation in Colorado and other parts of the West. He founded the Utah Copper Company in 1903, and also established mining operations in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada.
He settled with his fortune in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he and partner Charles L. Tutt had a road constructed to the top of Pikes Peak. They initiated an annual motor car race to the top. In 1918 Penrose opened an opulent resort hotel known as The Broadmoor, built outside the city which was a "dry" community. In 1937 he and his wife Julie established the El Pomar Foundation, to support activities to improve Colorado. In 2001, Penrose was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Spencer "Spec" Penrose was born on
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Julie Penrose
American philanthropist
Julia (Julie) Villiers Lewis McMillan Penrose | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julia Villiers Lewis 1870 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died | January 23, 1956(1956-01-23) (aged 85–86) Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation | philanthropist |
| Spouses | James McMillan (m. 1890; died 1902)Spencer Penrose (m. 1906; died 1888) |
| Children | 1 |
Julia (Julie) Villiers Lewis McMillan Penrose (1870–1956) was a wealthy American philanthropist born to a prominent family, the wife of the James (Jim) McMillan until he died in 1902, then the wife of millionaire Spencer Penrose until his death in 1939. Julie's giving during her marriages, contributions to the distrikt around her, and the state of Colorado, continued even after death with the creation of the perpetual El Pomar Foundation.
Julie Penrose was buried in the Will Rogers Shrine of the