By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Harriet Rauh's tireless volunteer efforts left a significant mark on the cultural fabric of the city.

She promoted integration during the civil rights movement. She raised money for Jewish organizations in Cincinnati and Israel as a leader of the Jewish Welfare Fund. And she was a supporter of the arts as an early board member of the Contemporary Arts Center and as a 70-year subscriber to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

"She was a vital person, very beautiful and elegant," said her daughter, Emily Pulitzer of St. Louis. "She cared about this community."

Mrs. Rauh died Saturday at Deupree Community in Hyde Park. She was 94.

When the civil rights movement started, Mrs. Rauh did all she could to help advance the cause. She participated in sit-ins, marched in protests locally and in Washington, D.C., and volunteered at the Fellowship House, an organization that pushed for integration throughout Cincinnati.

She was a longtime supporter of the LaSalle Quartet and "an avid collector of contemporary art," said her son, Louis Rauh of Hyde Park.

Mrs. Rauh attended University School in Avondale, and earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts at Smith College in 1931.

After college, she returned to Cincinnati and married Frederick Rauh, whose grandfather founded the nation's oldest general insurance agency, Frederick Rauh & Co.

For 25 years, starting in 1960, she worked as a travel agent, spending most of her career at Provident Travel downtown. Her work fueled her passion for travel.

Her husband preceded her in death in 1981.

Other survivors include a daughter-in-law, Marjorie, of Hyde Park; two sisters, Emily Adler of Hartwell and Peggy Crawford of Paris, France; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Weil Funeral Home, 8350 Cornell Road, Symmes Township.

Burial is private.

Memorials may be made to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, 1241 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202, or to the Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.

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E-mail nhamilton@enquirer.com