Though Elizabeth Noyce was not born in Maine, her cultural and financial contributions to our State have made a difference in the lives of many Mainers, and aided many Maine organizations.
Noyce was born in Auburn, Massachusetts, in 1930 as Elizabeth Bottomley. She grew up in a traditional family of the Depression-era. Her mother taught her to sew, which became a means of artistic expression for Elizabeth. She created fabric collages, at first telling family stories, then eventually depicting cultural and societal issues and images.
Elizabeth was married to Intel founder, Robert Noyce, whom she divorced in 1975. After the divorce, the very wealthy Elizabeth moved from California to Bremen, Maine to live. It was at this time in her life that she began making sizeable contributions to Maine's charitable organizations.
Organizations that Noyce contributed to include the Farnsworth Museum, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine Community Foundation, Monhegan Island Foundation, and the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
Even after her death in 1996, Elizabeth's acts of generosity continued through funding she provided to the Libra Foundation. The Libra Foundation continues to carry on Elizabeth's good work, providing grants to many of Maine's non-profit organizations. Through scholarships from the Libra Foundation, many Maine children have had the opportunity to go to summer camp.
Elizabeth's artwork, her fabric collages, and many other works of art from her private collection have been donated to Maine museums. Her collection continues to be on display at the Maine Museum of Art in Portland.
Though Elizabeth was not born in Maine, she embodied the characteristics that make Mainers unique: independent thinking, strong moral values, and Yankee ingenuity. This creative, ingenious spirit was obvious in the manner in which Elizabeth contributed to the Maine community. One story says that when Elizabeth wish to make a $1 million contribution to Maine television, rather than just giving the $1 million from her personal funds, she had five houses built and then sold. This provided the $1 million she desired to donate, without expending funds that could be better used to support other worthy causes. This project provided jobs for Maine workers, as well as the $1 million for public television.1
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