Lucy Ascoli Obituary

Ascoli, Lucy

Local Civic Leader and Political Activist, Lucy Ascoli Dies at 82

The family of Lucy B Ascoli is sad to announce her death on January 4, 2025 after a brief illness. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, a noted philanthropist and political activist.

Lucy was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1942 and moved to Maplewood, NJ with her family, where she graduated from Columbia High School. Lucy attended Connecticut College for Women for two years, then transferred to the University of Chicago, where she graduated in 1964 with a degree in political science, and met her husband, Peter M Ascoli.

She and Peter married in 1967 and moved to California, where she attended the University of California Berkeley, and obtained her MSW. They subsequently moved to Logan, Utah, where she taught Social Work at Utah State University.

After relocating to Chicago, Lucy worked for a number of nonprofit organizations, including the Donors Forum, Voice of the People, and with Cambodian and Ethiopian organizations that assisted refugees.

Philanthropy was a very important part of Lucy's life, and early in her time in Chicago, along with several other progressive activists, she created the Crossroads Fund, an organization devoted to social change. Ascoli served on nonprofit Boards including Impact for Equity, Changing Worlds, Human Rights Watch's Chicago chapter, and KAM Isaiah Israel congregation.

In the last decade, Lucy focused her attention on a family foundation called the Lohengrin Foundation, which seeks to advance equity and social justice in areas including education, immigration and refugee rights.

Lucy was a product of 1960s era of political activism. In 1972 she became a Utah delegate for the Democratic National Convention, where, as a lifelong Democrat, she proudly cast her vote for George McGovern. In every subsequent election she worked tirelessly on behalf of many candidates, including Mayor Harold Washington and President Barack Obama. Lucy also felt passionately about reducing gun violence, and supported national and local anti-gun agencies.

Lucy and Peter had a rich social and cultural life. She had great style and a wonderful sense of humor. She is survived by her husband, Peter Ascoli, her daughter, Elizabeth Ascoli, her son-in-law Brett Erickson and her grandsons, Yonatan and Adam, who live in Brookline, MA. She will be deeply missed by many people. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Partners in Health or the Women's Global Education Project in her honor.

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