Corbett to be remembered in tribute, and more memories

Funeral services for arts patron Patricia A. Corbett were private, but a public celebration is being planned for this spring by several arts organizations she supported during a lifetime of philanthropy.

The date and other details of the concert honoring Mrs. Corbett will be announced.

Watch for an appreciation in this Sunday's Enquirer. I have many personal memories that didn't fit into the newspaper stories. The times I interviewed her at home, I was always impressed at the stacks of local and national newspapers that she read daily to stay informed. She kept in shape to run from dawn until dark. Once when I appeared, she had just gone for her daily swim in the indoor pool just off her bedroom.

She enjoyed showing me around her home, recalling times opera diva Roberta Peters had visited, or dancers from Cincinnati Ballet had danced on her patio -- a benefit party for WCET (Channel 48). Her spacious home, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé John deKoven Hill, was featured in the 1960 issue of "House Beautiful."

NuTone filmed its early commercials in her kitchen, and she dressed the models in her own dresses. I learned today that because she was a wonderful singer in her youth, she made Christmas albums, which were sent to all the employees of NuTone. In the '60s and '70s, the Corbett home was the setting for lavish parties after the opera or to give a chamber music recital for an audience of 70.

She was always turned out in a cute pantsuit, and apparently got a special dispensation from Cincinnati Women's Club to wear pants through the front door! (Isn't that sooo Cincinnati?)

I don't think most people realize that giving away millions of dollars is hard work. Pat was always so well-versed about every detail of her philanthropy. Karen McKim became executive director of the foundation in 1988, shortly after J. Ralph passed away.

"Although I didn't realize at the time, Mrs.Corbett must've been almost 80 years old. Through the years she had obviously worked with architects and builders and acousticians, etc., and with professionals in the arts and academia, so that I don't think she needed to do research any longer. She just knew the territory very well. When she did meet with these professionals, she knew their lingo, and she knew what questions to ask, and she offered her own opinions freely."

So when Cincinnati Ballet was planning their Central Parkway location, they approached the Corbett Foundation for help. Mrs. Corbett studied the plans for two stage-size practice rooms, costume shop, room for the dancers, administration -- and asked whether one of the large studios would have audience seating.

"No, it was something they had not thought about," McKim recalls. "She told them they would need it, and she gave them the reasons--they would need an informal on-site performance space such as that would provide. They went back to the drawing board... and that space turned out to be a real advantage, much-used by the ballet.

"What struck me was how Mrs. Corbett spontaneously zeroed in (when the architects hadn't thought of it?) I guess it just seemed practical to her, like the garage at CCM. While everyone was looking at the same things, she was looking beyond and thinking logistics and patron convenience. Cincinnati Ballet has come so far, with the gorgeous Mickey Kaplan theatre. But the original 'studio plus' came from Patricia Corbett."

Click here to see an archived interview with the Corbetts at CETconnect

Photos: Pat Corbett, after giving a $5 million grant to AAAE; Pat, a benefactor of Enjoy the Arts, with bluegrass diva Katie Laur and Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls to open Final Friday Gallery Walk in 1997; Pat shares a laugh with Nick Clooney after donating $1 million to renovate the Corbett Theatre at NKU; Three Ladies who have no time for lunch: Phyllis Weston, Norma Petersen and Patricia Corbett