Iris Pollock-Prudhomme

PBS was not a part of the world into which Iris Pollock-Prudhomme was born, but it became an important part of the world she embraced, when – having seen the worst that can happen to a society – she made a new and very full life for herself in America… and made it her priority to enjoy the finer things in that life.

Iris was born in 1927 in the town of Schweinfurt in northern Bavaria. She was a child of five when Hitler came to power in 1933, and a girl of 17 when, with Germany in ruins, World War II ended in 1945. She eventually married an American diplomat and businessman, Joseph B. Pollock, and traveled all over the world with him. Following his death in 1987 she remarried – her second husband, whom she also survived, was Robert J. Prudhomme, a Navy veteran and the CEO of a company in the oil industry.

For years, Iris lived in sunny Fort Myers, Florida. “She was one of a kind,” said Kevin Kyle, the attorney who helped in planning her estate. “She had a very strong affinity for art, music, and animals. Her interests included painting and sculpture, and she had a deep love of music, especially opera and classical.” Iris impressed everyone with her ebullient personality. She loved to talk and was wonderfully aware of the world around her. She never lost her enthusiasm for learning.

Naturally enough for someone who loved the arts and animals as much as she did, and who at heart was an explorer, Iris came to think highly of PBS and its programs. She was nearly 87 years old when she died in the summer of 2014, having lived a remarkably active life, made even more fulfilling by her enjoyment of a wide range of offerings on PBS. By then, Iris had decided that she wanted the bulk of her estate, approximately $4 million, to go to PBS through the PBS Foundation – it was her way of giving back and of helping to ensure that PBS is able to continue making programs that educate, inspire, and entertain freely available to all.

Claudia Russell Barquist, Ph.D.

Like actress Audrey Hepburn, Claudia Barquist was petite and striking and had a dancer’s good looks. Her field, however, was English literature. She taught at the University of the District of Columbia and was an authority on Beowulf. During her years as a teacher she took her English lit classes to the Folger Theater to experience Shakespeare first-hand. At her memorial service, students she had introduced to Beowulf and other great works of medieval literature gave readings in Old English.

Because she believed so passionately in language and literature, because she loved music, dance, and theater, because at heart she was an explorer, Dr. Barquist was a committed supporter of public broadcasting. Throughout her life – and especially toward the end, when illness and a grueling regimen of treatment threatened to come between her and the world she loved – she kept herself engaged and in touch with that world through programs like PBS’ MASTERPIECE Classic. She recognized the importance of the programming PBS has to offer, and wanted to help ensure its future beyond her own life.