Rita Michaelson ’50

Rita Michaelson ’50, of East Greenwich, R.I.; Jan. 13. While a student, she met her husband, Julius ’67 AM, who died in 2011, and together they pursued social justice, opposed discrimination, and helped those in need. Her commitment to civil rights led to an appointment to the Rhode Island Human Rights Commission. For seven years she was a docent and lay lecturer at the RISD Museum. She worked in the Brown admissions office for many years and later served as a trustee and trustee emerita. She also served as an arbitrator for the Rhode Island Supreme Court and was on the labor panel of the American Arbitration Association, and she was a cofounder of the Providence Community Mediation Center. As a child she contracted polio and her parents got her involved in sports, among them skiing, which she did well into her 60s. She enjoyed entertaining and traveling. She is survived by two sons, including Jeffrey ’80; a daughter-in-law; two grandchildren, including granddaughter Kristen Michaelson ’16; a sister and brother-in-law; two sisters-in-law; and several nieces and nephews.