Valerie Pascal Delacorte

SHARON — Valerie Pascal Delacorte passed away on July 14, 2011, at her home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Valerie was the devoted wife of the late George T. Delacorte, founder of Dell Publishing Company and a well-known New York and Florida philanthropist. Valerie was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1919 and educated at the Ursuline Convent. Graced with stunning beauty, intellect and elegant style, Valerie became a stage and film actress in Hungary under the name Hídvéghy Valéria. Valerie’s earlier marriage was to Gabriel Pascal, Hollywood’s renowned film producer of George Bernard Shaw’s plays, including “Major Barbara” and “Caesar and Cleopatra.” It was Pascal’s idea to turn “Pygmalion” into a musical, which became a reality as “My Fair Lady” after Pascal’s death in 1954. Valerie authored a memoir entitled, “The Disciple and His Devil,” to reveal an extraordinarily close view of Shaw and Pascal, and their charged, creative success. Valerie’s glamorous, high-profile love and heartache with Pascal included socializing with the legendary actors Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison. McGraw-Hill published Valerie’s memoir in 1970. Michael Joseph republished the book in England in 1972. IUniverse reissued it in 2004, and in 2008 the book was translated and published in Hungary. Valerie donated the voluminous Shaw-Pascal correspondence to Boston University. Valerie and George greatly enjoyed their life together in New York, Florida and Connecticut, traveling, collecting art, and taking pride in the many gifts George gave to New York City, in particular, the Delacorte Musical Clock, the Alice in Wonderland statue and the Delacorte Shakespeare Amphitheatre, all in Central Park. George was a major benefactor of Columbia University, and established the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism. Following George’s death in 1991, Valerie served as a trustee of the center until 2001. In honor of her beloved husband, Valerie contributed their vast art collection of Old Masters to the Norton Museum of Art in Florida. Valerie was a devout Catholic, and her faith defined her journey through life and inspired her friendships and charitable commitments to the poor and homeless and to other philanthropies. A funeral service and Christian Mass will be held Monday, Aug. 8, at 10 a.m. in New York City at St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Ave. at 84th Street, followed by her burial to rest in eternal peace in the Delacorte Mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery, Webster Avenue and East 233 Street in Bronx, N. Y. In lieu of flowers, donations in Valerie’s memory may be made to Broadway Housing Communities, 583 Riverside Drive, NYC, NY 10031 (www.broadwayhousing.org); Orbis International. Inc., 520 Eighth Ave.,11th floor, NYC, NY 10018 (www.orbis.org); or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 (www.stjude.org).