Philanthropist Velma Morrison dies at home in Rancho Mirage

Velma Morrison, a philanthropist who was known as a patron of the arts, has died of a heart attack at the age of 92.

Morrison’s daughter, Judyth Roberts, said Morrison was at her home in Rancho Mirage when she died Thursday.

Several buildings around Boise, Idaho – including the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts on the Boise State University campus – bear evidence of her work supporting the arts.

Morrison was born in Tipton in 1920, and she moved to Boise after marrying Morrison Knudsen Co. co-founder Harry Morrison in 1959. She remained in Boise after Harry Morrison’s death and worked extensively with the Harry W. Morrison Foundation to donate millions of dollars to groups across the state, including the World Center for Birds of Prey.