Drexel, Noreen Stonor, Hon, 1922-2012

Dates

• Existence: - 2012

Biography

Born at her family’s estate, Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, England, Mildred Sophia Noreen Stonor Drexel (October 26, 1922 - November 6, 2012) was the youngest daughter of Ralph Stonor, 5th Baron Camoys (1884-1968), and Lady Mildred Sherman Camoys (1888-1961), and the granddaughter of William Watts Sherman and Sophia Augusta Brown of Newport, Rhode Island. Her siblings were Ralph Robert Sherman Watts Stonor, later 6th Baron Camoys (1913-1976), known as Sherman, and the Hon. Pamela Sophia Nadine Stonor, known as Nadine (1917-2005). During World War II, she came to the United States and worked as a nurse with the Red Cross, an organization with which she would remain closely involved throughout her life.

She married John Rozet Drexel III (1919-2007) in 1941 and they settled in the United States, spending time in Palm Beach, Florida, and at Stonor Lodge on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. Mrs. Drexel was a key figure in the social scene of both places, often organizing charity balls and other fundraisers for local organizations. She and her husband had three children: Pamela Sandra Noreen (b. 1942); John Rozet IV, called “Nick” (b. 1945); and Noreen Elizabeth Mildred, called “Nonie” (b. 1961).

In the 1970s, she served as Representative of the League of Red Cross Societies to the United Nations.

Throughout her life, Mrs. Drexel was an advocate for birthing mothers. In Palm Beach, she founded the Childbirth Education Association, producing a film entitled “First Breath” in 1972. In 2003, Newport Hospital dedicated the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center.

Mrs. Drexel served on the Salve Regina Board of Trustees from 1996 until her death, and on the boards of the Preservation Society of Newport County and the Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust. She was involved with historic preservation efforts at the university, including projects in Ochre Court and the William Watts Sherman House. Through her work with the McBean Charitable Trust, she supported myriad Newport organizations. Newport’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center awarded her the “Keeper of the Dream” award in 2003. Salve Regina University awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1999. She died in Newport in 2012 at the age of 90. In her honor, the McBean Charitable Trust endowed the Cultural and Historic Preservation Program at Salve Regina and as well as scholarships in education and nursing in 2013.

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