May Bonfils Stanton
Inductee Name
May Bonfils Stanton
Place of Birth
Missouri
Date of Birth
1883 – 1962
Year Inducted
1985
Category
Philanthropy
Sponsor
Bonfils Stanton Foundation
Impact
Colorado
May Bonfils Stanton and her sister, Helen Bonfils, were two of Colorado’s most dedicated and generous philanthropists who supported many causes over the years. Their influence is most deeply felt in the arts. Daughter of Denver Post founder and editor Frederick Gilmer Bonfils, Bonfils generously bestowed her wealth upon Denver. Fiercely dedicated to her Catholic principles and charitable causes, she created the Clinic of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado Medical Center, the library and auditorium of Loretto Heights College, the Bonfils Wing at the Denver Museum of Natural History, and the interior décor of the Catholic Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Upon her death, she left half of her estate in trust for St. Elizabeth Church’s Franciscan Religious Order. Although she was an accomplished composer and pianist, Bonfils disliked the spotlight.