Foxcroft School's Board of Trustees recently bestowed its highest honor -- the Anne Kane McGuire '52 Distinguished Service Award -- on Ruth Thomas Bedford, a member of the Class of 1932 whose love for her alma mater led to an historic gift to the girls boarding and day school. The first posthumous recipient, Bedford becomes the 29th recipient of the award.

The presentation took place Friday (April 17) at a community-wide assembly of students, faculty, trustees and alumnae visiting for Reunion Weekend. Board Chair Reggie Groves made the presentation, along with Head of School Catherine S. McGehee and fellow trustee Trevania Dudley Henderson '76.

The McGuire Award, named in honor of the late Board of Trustees chairwoman, was given to Bedford, Groves said, "...for being a shining example of strength, independence, and service to Foxcroft students and women around the world, and for inspiring us all to be true to ourselves, to follow our passions, and to make a difference in the world." Bedford, who died in June just short of her 100th birthday, left the School $40 million in her will.

The citation about Bedford, which Groves read to the appreciative assembly, cited the alumna's spunky personality, love of sports and devotion to service ---all of which match fundamental characteristics of Foxcroft.

"By chance, Ruth Thomas Bedford was born the year that Foxcroft School was founded. By design, she embraced and reflected the characteristics and values of the School from which she graduated in 1932. And by choice, she forever changed her alma mater with an act of love and generosity unmatched in the history of girls' schools," reads the resolution.

Born on August 8, 1914, Bedford was the third of four daughters born to Fred and Lucie Thomas Bedford. Her grandfather, Edward T. Bedford, was a director of Standard Oil and founder of the Corn Products Refining Company.

From the start, she lived life on her own terms.

An accomplished rider from an early age, at Foxcroft, Bedford embraced the School's motto of "mens sano in corpore sano," honing her riding skills and playing basketball for the School and for her beloved Hound team. She later became a skilled sailor, golfer, and tennis player, and also carried on the family penchant for racing horses with success -- all years before women's participation in sports was widely accepted, much less celebrated.

After Foxcroft, Bedford worked on Broadway, backstage, when nice girls from Connecticut didn't do such things, and became a licensed pilot who was often seen skimming her seaplane across Long Island Sound.

Community service was important to her: She served with the Red Cross in Europe during World War II, offering to be stationed in England during the Blitz, and, along with her sister Lucie, volunteerd at the Norwalk(CT) Hospital for over 50 years.

Despite her wealth Ruth drove around her hometown of Westport, CT, in a beat-up Oldsmobile station wagon and lived well below her means. When she died, she made a statement with her generous gift to Foxcroft, and similar gifts to the Norwalk Hospital and the Westport Y.

"At the end," reads the citation Bedford received as a McGuire Award winner, "Ruth inspired us by acknowledging the place that she felt made her the woman she was, with a transformational gift to her alma mater, Foxcroft. And in the process, Ruth demonstrated that women can be agents of change. Her generosity will help to sustain the School she believed in and loved for many future generations of young women."