Though the Reys never had any children of their own, they became widely known as “the parents of Curious George.” Margret used to tell of the time she and Hans met a little boy who stared at them with keen disappointment and said, “I thought you were monkeys, too.”
Margret, who always loved children and animals, established the Curious George Foundation (1989), which funds educational programs for creative – and curious! – children and also supports organizations devoted to the prevention of cruelty to animals and to their preservation.
Margret visited Israel in 1977 and some time before her death in 1996 wistfully said, “I didn’t do enough for Jews.” However, through her Foundation, she was a major supporter of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and she bequeathed $2.5 million to Jewish charities, including a significant contribution to the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.
